Unknown Territory
by Charlie Belle
Summary: Piper Canon moves to Hawkin's after the death of her parents to live with her Uncle. But she never thought that moving to Hawkin's would include a kid with superpowers and inter dimensional beings. And she thought joining a new high school was gonna be her biggest worry.
1. The Move

**Chapter One**

**The Move**

A heavy sigh passed through through Piper's chapped lips, her eyes scanning as they drove down the freeway. Her foot tapped restlessly drowning out the soft music that was coming through the radio.

"How much longer."

Hopper looked over towards the teen sitting beside him, her head still turned towards the window so he wasn't able to read her expression. "Not much, no more than an hour."

To say the tension in the air was thick would be an understatement. Hopper's grip tightened more on the steering wheel as Piper's foot tapping seemed to grow louder and louder. She looked and turned towards him and nodded her head. Hopper knew it was't gonna be easy, especially with a teenager moving into his house. But he also knew it was going to be even more difficult seeing it was his niece that was moving in, and the reason for her move was the death of his sister.

"Look I know it's going to take some adjusting, but I also want you to know that you cane come to me and talk to me." He spoke softly

Piper sniffled softly and nods her head slowly. "I know, Uncle Jim. I just..."

She never finished her sentence and just let it hang off, turning her head back towards the window to watch the Indiana landscape pass by. Piper sighed heavily and rested into the passenger seat more, closing her eyes as she tried to will her body to relax.

"_Piper!" Kathy shouted up the stairs towards her daughter, her eyes trained on the closed bedroom door, waiting for her daughter's head to pop out. She waited for a moment and didn't hear any movement. "Piper Ann Canton!" _

_ Piper groaned loudly and threw her blanket over her head trying to block out her mother's voice. Her hopes of her mother just leaving her alone was quickly diminished as she heard her mothers loud footstep coming up the stairs. Her bedroom door crashed open against her dresser, knocking a few of her things off the top, causing the teen to pop up quickly._

"_Mom!" She shouted with a edge of anger in her voice as she saw her scattered things across her floor. "What the hell?"_

"_Language!" Kathy glared down towards her sixteen year old daughter. "Did you forget what today is?"_

_ Piper stared towards her mother, her features quickly changing from angry to confused. _

"_It's your father's company party." Kathy sighed and ran her hand through her brown, curled hair. "Now we're leaving to go and pick up his suit. We'll be home in an hour and I want you to be ready to go when we come back."_

_Piper rolled her eyes and laid back down across her bed, rolling over to have her back face towards her bedroom door. "Yeah, whatever mom."_

_ Kathy stood up straight and shook her head before closing the door and heading back down the stairs. Her husband, James, stood at the end of the steps and chuckled softly before shaking his head. _

_ Hours had passed and Piper looked towards the clock for the tenth time in four minutes,but it seemed that the time was ticking by slower and slower with each passing second. She rolled her eyes as she moved to take a seat on the couch, grabbing the remote to turn on the television. Piper just thought her parents forgot to pick her up after heading back from the store. This wouldn't be the first time. But something uneasy began to settle into her stomach. That something was wrong._

Piper gasped slightly and jolted up from the position she was laying in, looking around her with a sense of panic, before relaxing as she looked towards her Uncle.

"Hey, hey." He reached over and rubbed her shoulder softly "Everything ok?"

Piper looked through the windshield to see they had arrived back at her Uncle's home – well cabin. She nodded her head as her breathing started to even out, but her heart beating rapidly against her chest. She reached for the door handle and quickly exit the car, the chill Hawkin's air filling her lungs. Her green eyes looking over the woods surrounding Hopper's home.

"This is much different from Detroit." She whispered softly, turning around to face her Uncle and give him a weak smile.

They gathered her things from the back of his truck, slowly making their way inside, Piper following her uncle into her brand new bedroom.

"I know it's not much, and we can head into town to get you furniture and everything else that you might need." Hopper spoke before pushing the door open to the room.

It was a basic plain room with a double bed, side tables and a dresser. Nothing on the walls except for a empty shelf. She walked around the room, before turning back towards her Uncle.

"Thank you," She spoke before setting her bag down at the end of her bed. "I'd like that...heading into town."

He nodded his head and placed her other bag beside her dresser. "Now I have to head into the station for a few hours, but I'll be back in time for dinner and I'll bring some food from Benny's diner with me." He hesitated "If you need to reach me, I'll leave the number for the station on the counter. Are you going to be ok?"

Piper nodded her head. "Yeah. I'll be fine. I'll just unpack."

Hopper looked towards the girl still finding it hard to get a read from her. Her expression blank. He nodded his head one before turning and walking back down the hallway. Piper could hear him hesitate in the kitchen before the sound of the door closing gave her the signal that he was gone. She stood up and walked towards the window, watching as his police truck sped down the road towards town.

The silence sounded deafening to her ears. Never did Piper think she'd miss the sound of the city. She moved back to the bed and brought her knee's tightly to her chest, her head falling into her lap as she gently started to cry. Her soft cries quickly turning to hard sobs.

Her body tired out from her cries, waking up hours later to the cabin being encased in darkness, and soft snow falling outside the window. She sat up slowly and reached to turn on the side lamp. She yawned and rubbed her eyes gently, before looking around her new bedroom.

"Guess it's time to make this feel more like home" She spoke mostly to herself, before standing from the bed and opening the bag that sat at the end of her bed.

Hours passed by and Piper had nearly everything unpacked from her bags, a little life placed into the once barren room. Photos of her friends back home, and the few photos of her parents that she had left. It was nearing midnight when she was finally done, and it wasn't until her stomach growled, that she remembered Hopper's promise of dinner. She sighed heavily and left the room, turning on the main light. She grabbed the phone off the wall and the piece of paper off the counter before dialing the number for the station. It rang a few times before a older woman picked up.

"Hawkin's Police, this is Patti."

"H-hi...This is Piper Canton. I'm Jim Hopper's niece, he gave me this number to call..." Piper hesitated for a moment not really knowing what else to really say.

"Oh yes, he mentioned just in case you did call, sweetie. He left about" There was a pause "Five hours ago. You want me to call his radio? Let him know you called?"

"Yes please. Thank you."

Piper hung up quickly and moved the phone number onto the fridge under a magnet just in case she would need that number again. She walked around the cabin trying to find anything to eat but sadly all the found was a box of crackers and a jar of peanut butter. _Better than nothing at all_, she thought to herself. She grabbed a spoon from the silverware drawer, before moving to the couch and turning on the tv.

She jumped slightly to the sound of the door opening, quickly moving to look over the back of the couch and sighing with relief when she recognized Hopper.

"I know. I'm late." He sighed and set two bags of take out onto the side table beside the door. "But I ran into a little...issue."

"Issue?" She asked softly and sat up more, noticing movement behind her Uncle. "Whose with you?"

Hopper sighed heavily, and turned to the side slightly, a small girl standing behind him, cowering back as she noticed Piper sitting on the couch.

"T-This is El. She's going to be staying with us for a while." Hopper spoke, gently guiding El into the house. Piper stood gently from the couch, setting down her spoon and peanut butter.

**Ten Months Later**

Piper moved around the kitchen quickly as she tried to cook breakfast and make coffee for three people without burning the cabin down to the ground. The tv played softly from the living room, looking over her shoulder to see El looking intently towards the screen. Over the last ten months that tv had been her only real connection to the outside world – outside of Hopper and Piper. It took a while for the girl to take a warming to Piper. And it took even longer for Piper to full grasp the story behind El and how she and Hopper had come to know each other. But she was quickly convinced when El showed her her abilities.

"El, breakfast is ready!" She called out towards the living room as she poured coffee into a thermos, turning off all the burners before walking towards the door at the end of the hallway and knocking on it loudly. "Uncle Jim! Breakfast!"

She heard a grunt from behind the door, causing her to roll her eyes and head back down the hallway to sit down the table across from El. The girl looked up towards Piper, lightly picking at her eggs.

"They taste bad?" She looked towards El "Did I burn them?"

El shook her head "N-No. Eggs fine."

Piper looked towards her and could tell that was she was trying to tell her something just not finding the proper words. "Is it cause I leave for school today?" El nodded her head. "I'll only be gone for a few hours each day, and I'll come back so we can still watch movies and stuff."

"Promise?" El spoke, sitting up a little straighter in her seat.

"Promise" Piper spoke before starting to eat.

Hopper walked out of his bedroom door towards the table where the two girls sat, fixing his belt as he walked before grabbing his thermos and taking a drink.

"Perfect, Piper. Thank you." He walked towards the counter and grabbing his plate before leaning against the counter and started to nearly shovel the eggs into his mouth. "Now remember I'm working late tonight girls. Piper you come right home after school to be here with El."

Piper quickly cleared her plate as she looked towards the clock, knowing that Johnathan would be waiting for her at the end of the block to pick her up. She moved to kiss El gently on the forehead and ruffle her grown out hair, before grabbing her backpack.

"I'll be home. 3:15"

The moment she was in Jonathan Byers car, she reached into her bag to pull out the pack of cigarette's she hid from Hopper. The anxiety of starting at the a new school was slowly creeping through out her entire body. She lit on quickly before bringing it to her lips and taking a long drag. She cranked down the window quickly before blowing the smoke out the window.

"I don't know why you're so nervous." Jonathan chuckled and shook his head. "It's not like you're going in knowing no one. You have me, and sorta Nancy."

"And I'm also starting during senior year." She looked towards him, smoke billowing past her lips as she spoke.

Jonathan parked the car towards the back of the parking lot, groups of students heading down the small hill from the parking lot towards the middle and high school. Piper finished off her cigarette before opening the door and dropping the butt towards her feet outside the car. She looked around to see the stereo typical group of students talking and walking together.

Already her green eyes landed on the group of girls standing by the front of the lot looking towards her as they whispered and laughed together. _Mean girls_, she thought. Piper didn't look like them, she didn't have brand new clothes and her face painted with thick layers of makeup. And she knew that because she didn't look like them – Piper was already not accepted.

"Great" She spoke before grabbing her backpack "Guess things don't change no matter where you live, huh?"

Jonathan shook his head and shrugged before they began to make their way across the parking lot. Piper was grabbing her thick brown curls and pulling them back into a ponytail as the rev of a engine sounded from the gate. She stopped quickly in her steps to see a blue Camero speed past both her and Jonathan before parking at the far side.

"Fucking asshole," She shouted towards the car, watching as a girl with red hair quickly hop out and make her way to the middle school.

Piper finished tying up her unruly hair and looked back over to watch a someone stepped out of the car. It was like the entire parking lot stopped to watch who was in the shiny new Camero. His blonde hair seem to shiny like a halo around his head as he looked around the parking lot. His broad shoulders stretching his jean jacket across his shoulders, and his chest exposed slightly as he took one final puff from his cigarette. He and Piper seemed to nearly be in a staring contest as he looked across the parking lot. His blue eyes never leaving hers as he dropped the cig to the floor and smashed it with his boot. Jonathan shouted out her name, catching her attention from the entrance. She looked back towards the blonde stranger before walking towards the doors. As she passed the group of girls form before she couldn't help but hear the whisper and gasp over the new guy.


	2. Happy Birthday

**Chapter Two**

**Happy Birthday**

Piper quickly threw her things into her locker, her stomach growling loudly, as if it knew that it was lunch time. So far her first day wasn't going too terribly. There were the usual stares and whispers as she walked through the hall. But nothing that was extreme. She was almost thankful to the other new kid, because he seemed to be a bigger distraction to everyone. Especially the girls.

By the end of second period she was able to learn that his name was Billy Hargrove. He had just moved to Hawkins from California and the red head that jumped out of his car was his step-sister. Every girl wanted to be with Billy, as every guy wanted to be Billy. But Piper rolled her eyes from everyone's reaction. Hawkins was a small town, and not much went on, so when stuff happened it was a big deal. She got that. Understood it even, but didn't get why everyone fawned over someone that was exactly like the rest of them.

Piper pushed through the crowd of students and walked towards the back doors to head towards Jonathan's car. Before they split off for their first period he had told her to meet her back at the car for lunch. She walked across the parking lot and already saw him sitting atop of his hood with his lunch across his lap.

"Byers" She sighed heavily as she popped herself onto the car and unpacking her lunch sack.

"Canon," He chuckled softly "How's school treating you so far?"

"Fine." She shrugged and took a bite out of her sandwich. "Nothing really to complain about, except for people staring and whispering as I walk by them."

Jonathan chuckled "Yeah. I'm not gonna lie, people have been talking. Mostly people wanna know if you're a newly found love child of Hopper's."

Piper quickly spit out of food and began to cough uncontrollably. Jonathan moved closer to her across the hood and patted her back to help her catch her breath. She took a deep breath before straightening and turning to her friends, her green eyes slightly shinning from her unshed tears.

"You're kidding me?" She asked and he shook his head. "Jesus Christ."

"It's a small town, they don't wanna hear the truth they wanna make up their own story for entertainment."

Piper reached up and wiped away her eyes quickly before taking a drink from her water bottle. After closing up the cap, her hand reached into her bag and pulled out a cigarette and lit it quickly. The thought of teachers catching her wasn't really on her mind currently.

"You hear about the party happening tomorrow night?" Jonathan asked. Piper shook her head and blew out smoke from between her lips. "Well, Nancy told me about it. It's a Halloween party at someone's house while her parents are out of town."

"Halloween is my birthday." She reminded him.

"Y-Yeah. I know." He spoke shyly. "Thought maybe it would be better than sitting at Hopper's cabin alone."

Piper bit down on her lower lip and quickly looked away from him as she took another drag from her cigarette. She knew that El was a secret to everyone but herself and Hopper. He nearly put the fear of God into her soul when he let her know that no one, under any circumstance, is to know about El. And she began to love and care for Eleven deeply as she spent the last ten months with her. Seeing her as her little sister that she needed to protect. So that meant she wasn't able to let Jonathan know she planned to just sit in Hopper's cabin but with Eleven. The two of them eating candy till their stomach's ached.

"Come on. It might be fun." Jonathan spoke after a long moment of silence. He looked down at his friend and saw that her foot began to tap. It was a small habit that he noticed she did when she was nervous or anxious.

"Can I think about it?" Piper looked back up towards him. Jonathan nodded as the bell ran signaling the beginning fourth period.

Piper quickly moved to flick her cigarette off to the side once it was done and cleaned up Jonathan's hood before they started towards the school again. The two of them split up in the lobby and Piper moved to grab her books from her locker. When she walked into fourth period English she noticed that the classroom was nearly filled except for one seat. And it happened to be beside none other than the new guy, Billy Hargrove. He was leaned over the back of his desk chair talking to Tommy. Tommy looked to be hanging off of every word that Billy said.

She tried to ignore the way her stomach flipped as she walked towards the only option she had for a desk. Slowly she tried to sink into the chair, hoping that no one around her would notice her presence. The last thing she needed was the cackling three from this morning taking notice of her again.

The teacher called attention to the class not long after she'd taken her seat. Piper's hand seemed to clench tighter to her pencil as she could see Billy's eyes trained on the side of her face. But she kept her's forehead and on the teacher. She wasn't gonna be like every other girl today and blush and fall at his feet. _But why the hell is my heart rate quickening_?

The moment school was done Piper made sure to gather her things quickly so that Jonathan was able to drop her off so she'd get home to El. She knew how much the girl hated being alone in the cabin all day with nothing to distract her but the television. When she walked out to the parking lot for the third time that day, it was like a replay of this morning. As she walked towards the car she could see Jonathan leaning against the driver's side talking to Nancy.

"You ready Byers?" She asked, leaning against the car beside him and smiling towards Nancy. "Hey Nanc."

"Hey." She smiled widely towards Piper "How was your first day?" Piper shrugged as her answer and smiled. Nancy laughed and shook her head. "You get a look at the new guy? Billy? That's all anyone is talking about today."

"Yeah. He's in my fourth period." Piper moved a curl from her eyes and jumped as she heard the rev of the now infamous Camero across the parking lot, the sound of metal blaring through the speakers. "But I didn't talk to him."

"Well, I was talking to Jonathan about the Halloween party tomorrow night. You should totally come. Get to know people." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Yeah. Maybe"

Piper seemed to check herself out of the conversation as she watched Billy quickly drive out of the lot. She tried so hard all day to ignore to pit in her feeling that formed any time she knew he was close. It was like the same feeling she got the night her parent's died.

As Piper walked into the cabin she smiled as she saw El in exactly the spot that she thought that she would be. Curled up on the couch with her knee's to her chest and intently watching the show on the screen.

"Hey, kiddo." She threw her bag down onto the floor beside her bedroom door before taking a seat on the couch beside El. "Anything good on the tv?"

El sat up and shook her head. "Same stuff."

Piper wrapped her arm around El's shoulder and pulled her closer into her side. "Find something good for us to watch before Hop get's home and hogs the tv for his boring sports."

El laughed softly, before turning back to the tv, her eyes focused on the spin dial of the tv, nodding her head to the left – her powers working to turn the channel to a movie.

**The Next Day After School**

Piper didn't know if she had a slight pep in her step because it was her seventeenth birthday, or the fact that she had planned to get out of the house with Jonathan tonight. After breakfast this morning, cooked by Hopper with birthday pancakes, she over heard him telling El they were going to spend the night in together – giving her good conscious to try and have a good night tonight. She'd already come up with a lie to Hopper this morning saying she was going to be having a sleepover with Nancy for her birthday, so she had an excuse to not come home. Just in case she had one too many drinks. It had been one hell of a year for her and all she wanted was to relax and not care about anything.

"Alright, Byers, you ready?" She smiled towards him.

He laughed as he watched as she seemed to nearly be bouncing in front of him. "For someone that didn't seem too excited yesterday, you are beaming with it right now."

"It's my birthday. Aren't I allowed to be happy?"

"Of course." Jonathan rolled his eyes and opened his car door before grabbing a poorly wrapped package out of the glove compartment. "Before I forget...I got you something"

Piper blushed lightly and reached forward for the gift. "Jonathan...y-you didn't have to"

"Are you kidding me? Of course I did. It's your birthday."

She looked towards him one more time before ripping open the wrapping and gasped loudly as she stared down at what was in front of her. It was a brand new camera.

"I-I can't accept this. Are you crazy?" Her wide green eyes shot back and forth between the camera in her hands and the boy standing in front of her. "This is crazy expensive."

He shook his head "Stop it. When you told me you forgot yours in Detroit, I knew that I had to get you another one. You can start taking pictures again."

Piper moved quickly to hug her friend tightly "Thank you Jonathan, really. This is amazing."

"You're welcome. Happy Birthday, Piper."

She stood in front of the mirror and pulled the last strand back and pinned it into her hair, before smiling, finally satisfied with her look. Piper made sure to slip her new camera into her bag before opening the door of the Byers bathroom and stepping out. Joyce smiled widely when she saw Piper stepped out and smiled widely.

"Oh, my god you look amazing." She clasped her hands tightly over her mouth to try and hide her smile. "You look exactly like her."

Piper gave a little twirl before smoothing down the skirt of her tutu skirt that was over her neon pink leggings. With short notice her costume wasn't really that creative, but she didn't think it was pretty amazing. Madonna, like any other teen girls idea at the moment. When she turned the corner she smiled when she saw Will in his Ghost-busters costume.

"You look cool kid." She moved her hand up from him to high-five, which he did with a huge smile. Jonathan walked from out of his room, in the exact same clothes he wore to school. "Halloween and no costume?"

"Are you shocked?" Will laughed

"Guess I shouldn't be." She shrugged before grabbing Jonathan's hand and pulling him out of the house. Both of them shouting over their shoulders a quick goodbye to Joyce and Will before they headed out to his car.

When Jonathan pulled up in front of Tina Coleman's house it was already fully packed with teenagers and loud music was vibrating from the walls quickly. Piper could hear people shouting from the backyard over the music and beer cans were already littering the front lawn. As the two walked up towards the house, a guy rushed from the front of the house and began to vomit all over the front lawn. _Typical_, Piper thought. Piper followed behind Jonathan and pushed against bodies, almost immediately being separated from each other. As she walked towards the back of the house she spotted Nancy racing up the stairs with Steve following behind her. From the stumbling and the red all over the front of her sweater – Piper could tell that the girl was drunk.

She walked through the party quickly to find a spot where she wouldn't be pressed between bodies of sweaty teenagers. It felt like fresh air as she pushed through the crowd and found space within in the kitchen. Her hand reached forward and grabbing a red cup from the stack in front of her and dipped it into the frothy red drink in the punch bowl. As Piper took a sip she nearly gagged from how strong the drink was, but stomached it as she took another sip.

"Fuck," She cursed as she walked towards the backyard where majority of the party was. Her eyes scanned over the crowd quickly to try and spot Jonathan or anyone else that she would possibly know. But with no luck, she grabbed her pack from her bag and walked to a secluded spot and lit a cig quickly. _Jonathan will come and find me eventually_. But Jonathan wasn't the one to find her. Not even Nancy or Steve.

"Hey," A deep slurring voice sounded from beside her. When she looked up her eyes quickly met with the strangers. As she took a long drag from the cig she could make out his form slightly from the burning embers. "Can I bum one of ya?"

Billy Fucking Hargrove.


	3. Party On

**Chapter Three**

Party On

Piper stared at the boy in front of her, the cigarette placed between her lips as he slightly stumbled closer to her. She took another drag before blowing the smoke off to the side.

"You hear me doll?" Billy spoke with a slightly smirk on his face "Can I have one of those?"

He was so close to her that she could smell the cologne that he'd had sprayed himself with earlier. Piper reached for the small pack and opened it before handing it over. Billy's finger tips grazed against her as he grabbed it from her hand, quickly reaching for the lighter she held out.

"You're welcome." She scuffed before taking another drag. He muttered a muffled thanks as he tried to lit the cigarette.

Piper stood and watched him struggle, before throwing her to her feet and smashing it. "Give me that" She spoke while taking the lighter from his hands and holding it out for him.

Billy's eyes locked with hers as he took a half a step forward and let the cigarette light. But he didn't step back as he took a long drag and blew the smoke off to the side. Piper placed the lighter back into her pocket, but stayed standing in front of Billy as he smoked.

"You're the chief's kid, aren't you?" He spoke after a long pause.

"Niece." She rolled her eyes

"Oh? That's not what I heard." Billy chuckled and swayed slightly.

"Can't really trust the people of Hawkins" Piper sighed softly "Just like all the things I've heard about you. Seems you have the attention of everyone at school than me."

"Do you blame them, doll?" Billy smirked before taking another drag.

Before she could even respond, Piper heard her name being called from the patio of the house. She looked over Billy's shoulder to see Jonathan pushing his way through the crowd on the stairs, looking frantically from side to side. Bill turned around to look in the direction she was and laughed a little louder.

"Your boyfriend looking for you?

"He's not my boyfriend" She moved around him and walked towards her friend, the moment Jonathan saw her, she could see the relief wash over his face. "Where'd you go?"

"I got pulled towards the living room, it was like I was lost in a sea of teenagers." He laughed nervously. "Uh...y-you care if I take Nancy home? She's pretty wasted and I can't find Steve."

"Jonathan...I came to this party for you." She looked around the party knowing full well if he left that she'd be sitting a corner and that wasn't how she wanted to be spending her birthday.

"I know. I know and I promise to come back once I have her home safe." Jonathan shoved his hands into his jean pockets and stared down at the girl in front of him. Jonathan didn't know why he always felt the need to always look out and take care of Nancy. But ever since last year he couldn't shake that feeling off and he didn't have the time to explain it to Piper in the moment – not matter how mad she was gonna be at him.

"You promise to come back?" She folded her hands across her chest.

"Yes. I promise. Find Steve for me and let him know what's going on? I saw them get into a fight earlier and I think that's why he's sorta run off."

Piper nodded her head "Yeah. You go. I'll find Steve and possibly have a drink."

She went to step around him and head towards the house more. But she stopped when she felt a hand on her bicep. Piper looked back up towards Jonathan and gave him a puzzling look.

"Was that Bill Hargrove I saw you talking to earlier?" He asked, his eyes going back to the little corner they were standing in before, even though Billy was long gone.

"Yeah. He just bummed me for a smoke." She hesitated "Why do you care?"

"I-I don't...just looking out for you."

Jonathan gave her a small smile before leaving and walking around the house towards his car where he already placed Nancy into the backseat. Piper moved towards the kitchen where she saw a punch bowl sitting on the counter, grabbing a red solo cup and filling it before taking a drink. Her last cup forgotten some where in the backyard. She leans up against the counter and scanned over the crowd and looking for Harrington, but her eyes quickly found someone else.

Piper threw her head back as she let out another laugh, the hand not holding her drink up in the air as she danced to the music with others on the designated dance floor. She smiled towards a girl she didn't know, before taking a drink from her cup. The music seemed to grow louder as she stumbled through the crowd to grab another drink from the punch bowl, deep down she knew that she'd probably regret drinking as much as she was. But seeing as it had nearly been over two hours since Jonathan left with Nancy and he still wasn't back.

"Looks like you're having fun." a deep voice spoke from behind her. When she turned around she was once again met with Billy's smirking face.

"What? Not allowed to?" She smiled and took another sip. "I mean you of all people are having the most fun, Keg King."

Billy licked her lower lip and nodded his head and he stepped closer to her, Piper couldn't help her eyes slowly moving down his bare chest that was exposed thanks to the leather jacket he was wearing that was left open.

"Like what you see?" He bent down slightly so his eyes would meet hers. She bit down on her lower lip lightly as a blush covered her cheeks. Piper shrugged her shoulders before turning away from him and heading back towards the dance floor.

The party slowly started the die down and Piper finally came to the conclusion that Jonathan wasn't going to come back for her. She should've known from the very start that he wasn't going to. She looked towards a clock that was hanging on the wall and saw it was close to midnight and that she should be heading home. Hopper thought that she was spending over at Nancy's for the night, but she'd come up with some excuse in the morning for why she was there. Piper grabbed her bag from the spot she'd left it in the kitchen and double checked everything inside to make sure nothing was missing.

"Fucking Byers," She sighed heavily, her buzz from earlier slowly becoming less and less.

She walked out of the house and onto the street, the front lawn littered with passed out teens and empty cups and beer cans. As she walked down the empty road the only noise she could hear were her heels against the pavement as she walked. Piper had to of been no more than two blocks away before she heard the rev of an engine. She turned around quickly to look over her shoulder and knew immediately who it was as her eyes watched the blue camero drive towards her. Billy slowed down as he approached the girl, rolling down his passenger side window and leaned over the center counsel.

"Get in." He spoke with a slight tone of authority in his voice.

"And why should I get in the car with you?" She gripped the car door and leaned into it slightly.

"Cause I wouldn't be a gentleman if I let you walk all the way home." He bit down on his lower lip before reaching for the door handle and popping the door open. Piper hesitated for a moment before quickly getting inside.

Billy leaned back in his seat as he pulled away from the curb quickly and sped down the road, towards the direction she told him to get to her house.

"What happened to your friend?" Billy asked

Piper shrugged her shoulders "Hell if I know. Guessing he got caught up with something." Piper leaned back into the passenger seat sighing softly as she felt the cold air move through the car as Billy drove with the windows down. "Some birthday."

Billy looked towards her quickly "Birthday?"

"Yeah," She turned her head towards him "It's my seventeenth birthday today. I went to that party for Jonathan, thinking we'd have some fun. But he ditched me."

"Well that's not a very 'friend' thing to do." Billy spoke as he turned down the street that lead into the part of the woods the cabin was in.

"You can drop me here." She spoke "You car isn't gonna make it much farther."

Piper opened the door quickly and grabbed her bag, and she was no more than a step from the car before she heard her name being called from behind her.

"Happy Birthday, Piper." Billy smirked, before throwing his car into reverse and heading back down the street. Once again Piper couldn't help the blush that covered her cheeks.

When she finally made it back to the cabin, Piper couldn't help but notice not seeing Hopper's police truck on her way up. She thought for sure she was gonna have to come up with a lie on the spot, expecting to walk into Hopper and El laying on the couch watching a movie. Piper did the distinct knock that she and her Uncle were to do to let El know that they were home. When she opened the door the entire cabin was almost encased in darkness, the only sound coming from El's room, the door closed and the cable from the TV sticking out of the crack at the bottom. Piper instantly knew that Hopper never made it tonight for the plans he had with El, and she couldn't help the guilt that sat in her stomach. _I was off partying as El was left alone in the cabin_.

Piper dropped her bag into her room before walking further down and knocking on El's bedroom door. "Hey, kid, it's me." She spoke loudly to talk over the TV.

The door almost instantly popped open and she pushed the door open a little more to peek her head inside. El was bundled on her bed with her eyes trained on the TV in front of her. The soft blue light from the TV being the only light source in the room. Piper leaned against the door frame and looked towards the girl with a sad smile.

"Guess he never showed up tonight?" Piper asked

"Late." El sighed and turned her head towards her, her face twisting into confusion. Piper looked down over herself before her eyes met back with El's. "It's a costume...for a party."

"Party?" El looked even more confused.

"Uh...yeah, I went with Jonathan." Piper shrugged her shoulders "Lot's of music and dancing."

"Dancing." El waited for a moment before looking back towards the movie.

"Can I join you?" Piper kicked off her shoes and pushed her hair away from her face and into a ponytail with the scrunchie that was on her wrist. "It is my birthday and I would love to spend the rest of it with you."

El smiled slightly and nodded her head, before moving over on her bed to make room for Piper. She moved to close the door behind her, before getting into the bed beside El and pulling the blanket back over them.

"You stink like beer" El spoke after a moment as she rested against Piper's chest.

"Sorry." Piper chuckled "A side effect of parties. Let's uh...not let Hopper know about that. Promise? It'll be our little secret."

El nodded her head and smiled and let out a soft laugh. "Promise."

No more than thirty minutes after Piper had come home, she heard Hopper's truck outside, before he was pounding on the door – begging El to let him inside and apologizing for being late.

"Come on, kid. Let me in! I'm gonna freeze to death out here."

Piper budged El's shoulder and gave her a stern look. "Let him in."

El rolled her eyes before looking towards the direction of the cabin and turning her head slightly, the sound of the front door opening and Hopper quickly closing it. Both of the girls listened as Hopper moved towards El's bedroom door, trying to open it, but El had locked it moment before he could open it. Hopper talked of being held up, and that being why he was late. But Piper could tell by the look on her face that she wasn't having it. Piper bent down and kissed the top of her head, before whispering that she'd be right back. She moved off the bed and reached for the door, opening it enough to see her uncle sitting on the couch and unwrapping candy. His head turn towards the door to the sound of it opening, but looked confused as he saw his niece, and not Eleven.

"What are you doing home? And why are you dressed like that? I thought you were at Nancy's" Hopper spoke with a mouth full of nugget.

Piper closed the door tightly behind her before moving to the couch. "It's a costume, and I decided to come home. Wasn't having that much fun."

"A costume? For what?"

"We...uh...went trick or treating with the kids." Piper lied, but made sure to keep her face straight.

"Nice try." Hopper laughed "I can smell the alcohol on ya. But I won't press you. At least not now."

Piper relaxed slightly and grabbed candy from the pail sitting on her uncles lap. "What happened to movie and candy with El?"

"Got held up with something at work and lost track of time." He sighed heavily

"Just make it up to her tomorrow morning. Maybe make a big breakfast with Eggo's. You know how much she loves those." Piper smiled. "It's ok that things slip through your fingers, Uncle Hop."

He sighed and nodded his head "It's good that you're here for her too. I think I would feel even worse if she was locked up here all alone all the time."

Piper smiled "She's become like...my little sister in a way."

Hopper smiled even wider before opening his arms out to her, Piper moving quickly to rest against her uncles side and resting into him.

"I know I said it this morning, but Happy Birthday, sweetheart."

Piper looked up towards him "Thank you."


	4. School Days

**Chapter Four **

**School Days**

Piper let out a groan as the sun peeked through the window and across her eyes as she laid in her bed. Her hands blindly reached down and grabbed the edge of her comforter to pull it over her eyes. She didn't get to relax for long as the door to her bedroom opened, the door banging against the a joining wall and causing her shelves to shake slightly.

"Rise and shine!" Hopper spoke loudly as he walked into her room. His voice and the sound of his work boots against the hardwood floor making her headache even worse. _Why did I drink so much_?

"No" She whined from beneath the covers "Go away"

Hopper chuckled softly as he walked towards the window, pulling the drapes apart to let more sun into the room. He turned around towards the bed where his niece laid and grabbed the blankets, roughly pulling the fro her face. Her green eyes glaring up towards him, Hopper's smirk just widened more.

"Come on, breakfast is ready." He tapped her side gently before standing up straight and walking out the door. "I need your help today with getting some stuff for the house from town after school today."

She sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes before pushing her hair from her face. She knew better than to argue with her Uncle. Unlike her mom who was the obvious laid back and more carefree sibling of the Hopper Household, Jim was the more strict and "do as I say" type of guy. Piper slipped her feet into the slippers that always sat at her beside, before begrudgingly walking into the main part of the cabin. El was already sitting at the table eating cereal, her eyes looked towards the teen as she walked out of the bedroom.

"You look terrible." El spoke with a concerned look on her face.

"Thanks, kid" Piper laughed, wincing slightly as her head panged a little harder.

Hopper turned from the counter with a glass full of OJ in one hand and Tylenol in the other. He passed both to Piper before pulling out his chair to eat his breakfast.

"Don't think because I'm not yelling at you means that I'm not upset with you." Hopper spoke before taking a sip of is coffee. "While I'm at work I'll be thinking of some sort of punishment."

Piper set down the empty glass before taking a seat beside El and started to eat breakfast. "I didn't do anything bad. Just...had a little fun on my birthday. Is that really cause for punishment?"

Hooper gave her a look that made her believe that he wasn't gonna be letting up. The three of them finished up breakfast before Hooper left for work. Piper showered quickly and almost felt better from this morning, but it seemed the headache that she woke up with was here to stay for a little longer.

She threw on a pair of jeans and a over-sized sweater, before slipping on her boots. As she grabbed her backpack from the floor, she turned towards El and smiled towards her.

"I'll be back later. Don't get into any trouble."

El gave her a soft smile before nodding her head, before Piper headed towards the door and down towards the road. She could already hear the engine of Jonathan's car as she walked down through the path from the cabin. She stopped right before the side of the car and crossed her hands over her chest.

"I know...I know." Jonathan sighed as he rushed to get out of the car and moved around to stand in front of her.

"You didn't come back, Byers." She glared towards him "I had to find my own way home in a town I barely knew because my best friend told me he'd come back. But he didn't. He left me."

"Piper..."

"No." She cut him off and raised a finger towards his face "You promised."

"I know, and I'm really really sorry." He gently grabbed her finger to move it from his face "Things were much more complicated that I thought last night. I felt bad, and didn't wanna leave her."

Piper sighed softly and relaxed slightly "You're too nice and sweet for your own good."

She reached down and grabbed the door handle and opened it before getting inside. Jonathan rushed around quickly to get back, quickly driving towards the school.

"So does that mean that I'm forgiven?"

"Maybe. Depends on how severe Hopper punishes me tonight."

He grimaced slightly "He get that mad last night?"

"It's kind of my own fault. I was watching a movie when he came home late last night. I could've just stayed in the room so he possibly wouldn't find out. But..." Piper let the sentence hang and just slightly shrugged her shoulders. "As much as my Uncle tries to act all tough and hard, I know that he had a soft spot."

* * *

It was mid through the school day and all Piper felt like she needed was another cup of coffee, a long nap, and a cigarette. But she had left her pack at home and didn't have enough time during lunch to get a coffee. So she was struggling hard through the day. After placing her bag into her locker she walked towards the back of the school to work on her homework on the bleachers during her free period. Her foot tapped anxiously as she looked through her science book, her homework making her head hurt even more. She reached up and rubbed her temples slightly and closed her eyes.

The loud sound of the back door of the gym made her jump up and quickly turn towards the sound. A large group of boys walked out, patting each other on the back and nearly shouting as they walked out – and at the forefront was Billy. He rubbed a towel against his bare chest, his hair matted back from the sweat. A soft blush came over her cheeks as her eyes slowly scanned over his body. She seemed to snap out of it and quickly look away when his head turned towards her direction.

"Fuck" She cursed low under her breath before she quickly started to gather her books and throw them back into her bag. But just as she moved to stand from the bottom of the bleachers, she turned and came face to face with Billy's chest.

"Jesus Christ." Piper backed up quickly and looked up towards him. "Scare people much?"

"Sorry, doll" He smirked and reached into the pocket of his gym shorts and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and walked around to sit down on the bleacher bench.

Piper turned around and watched him quickly light one before taking a drag and blowing out the smoke. She set her bag down and held her hand out to him, causing him to look up at her with a confused look.

"Pay up." She pointed towards his back.

"Excuse me?" He reached up and pulled the cigarette from his lips with his thumb and pointer finger, before slowly blowing out the smoke.

"You too drunk last night to remember, Keg King?" She cocked an eyebrow towards him "You bummed a smoke off me and drove me home."

The crease between his eyebrows seemed to deepen before a slow smile spread across his face and he began to nod his head.

"Birthday girl." Billy smirked before reaching down and grabbing a cigarette for her. She greedily took it before lighting it. Her body seeming to release all the tension as she took the first long drag.

Piper sat back down beside him and took a couple more before grossing her legs and flicking the ash off to the side. Billy watched her as she looked straight forward and anxiously started to tap her foot.

"How'd the rest of your birthday go? The boyfriend ever come back?"

Billy couldn't help but keep his crystal blue eyes locked with her green as she turned her head back to him.

"Jonathan isn't my boyfriend."

"You sure he knows that?" Billy smirked before flicking his cigarette and smashing it with his sneaker

Piper looked towards him confused. "Jonathan is a family friend, and I know for a fact I'm not the one he has a crush on. Why does it matter to you?"

"It doesn't" Billy shrugged and sat up a little straighter.

"And the rest of my birthday was good." She took another smoke and looked back towards the woods "After you dropped me off I just watched a movie till my Uncle came home."

"You get in trouble?"

"I find out tonight." Piper chuckles softly

Billy's next sentence was cut off but the sound of the bell ending free period. Piper stood quickly and smashed her cigarette with her foot, before smiling and turning to Billy.

"See you later, Keg King." She smiled before quickly walking towards the school and disappearing into the crowd of students.

Billy stood up and grabbed the towel from the bleachers and watched Piper till he couldn't see her any more. He began to walk towards the school and couldn't explain the feeling that was sitting in the pit of his stomach. For the first time since he's moved to Hawkins, she was so far the only person to not annoy or disgust him. Billy both loved and hated how the girls acted around him. It fed his ego but at the end of it he was disgusted with himself. He knew he was no longer the guy he used to be back in California. But it was like he couldn't stop himself.

* * *

Piper held tightly to the strap of her backpack as she walked towards the parking lot, pulling the list from her back pocket, looking over what Hooper needed her to grab. When she walked into the parking lot she looked around and noticed that Jonathan's car was gone already.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" She spoke to herself, knowing automatically that he left her. Again.

She looked around the parking lot and saw that it was emptying quickly, not that she could really ask anyone for a ride. She didn't really know anyone else. The only other person that came to mind was Steve, but she didn't know what his car looked like from memory. _Fucking Byers_. For some reason deep down she knew that Nancy was the reason for him already being gone. That boy was so in love that he couldn't help himself when it came to her.

Just as the dreadful thought of walking back home came into her mind, the sound of a engine came up towards her. When she looked to her right she saw the blue Camero driving towards her, Billy leaning over the center console.

"Need a ride again?" He smirked

Piper looked over her shoulder when she heard a noise from behind her, and her eyes landed on a group of girl leaning against the car. She knew from the looks and the whispering that they were talking about her. She nodded her head before reaching for the handle and quickly getting into the car. Billy pulled away from the parking lot, leaving smoke in his place. The loud sound of Metallica blasted through the speakers as he sped down the road.

"Seems for the second time I come to your rescue. Might have to start charging you." Billy spoke after turning down the volume.

"And what would I be paying you in? Cigarettes?"

He shrugged his shoulder and smirked "Maybe. I'm sure I can think of something."

Piper shook her head "You know you don't have to turn on your bad boy charm with me. It's not gonna work."

Billy turned towards her and cocked his eyebrow for a moment before turning back towards the road. "And why is that?"

"Because I'm not from this small podunk town and you're not the first hot 'bad boy' I've come across." Piper froze for a moment after realizing what she just said.

"So you think I'm hot? Good to know."

"I-I..." She sighed softly and closed her eyes "Fuck."

Billy laughed and turned towards the town "Relax. You didn't say anything bad. It's a good thing to know."

Piper sunk deeper into her chair as the heat on her cheeks increased. Billy couldn't help the smile that was across his face as he drove towards downtown Hawkins.

"Y-You can drop me off in the town center. I've gotta get stuff for the house." She spoke quickly, wanting nothing more than to get out of this car.

The rest of the car ride was in silence, before Billy pulled up in front of the grocery store, idling the car as he turned towards Piper.

"Thanks, Billy" She whispered shyly, grabbing her bag from the floor of the car.

"No problem at all, Birthday girl." Billy smirked

"It's not my birthday anymore." She shook her head "My name is Piper."

She got out of the car and closed the door behind her, and quickly walked into the store. Billy once again sitting there and waiting till he couldn't see her anymore.


	5. Explosion

**Chapter Five**

**Explosion**

Piper sighed heavily as she dropped the grocery bags onto the floor beside the front door before digging around in her pocket for the front door key. When she finally found it, she unlocked the door quickly, before pushing the old door open and slamming it shut with her foot. She carried the bags over into the kitchen and dropped everything beside the table. El watched from the table as she moved around the kitchen and quickly began to place things into cabinets, the fridge and the freezer.

"You have a good day today?" Piper asked as she finally sat down and opened up a water bottle. The long walk from town was almost enough to exhaust her completely.

El just gently shrugged her shoulder and looked down to fiddle with her fingers. Piper looked towards her confused, scanning over to see that she was completely dressed and in one of her jackets.

"Why are you wearing my coat?" Piper moved to lean forward slightly and rested her elbows on the top of the table. After a long pause of silence she spoke up again. "El, why are you wearing my coat?"

The girl looked up towards her with a slight frown on her face. "Mike."

Piper was even more confused now. "Mike? What does wearing my coat have to do with Mike?"

Eleven hesitated and bit down on her lower lip as Piper stared down towards her with a confused look on her face. Even though she wasn't there last year, Piper was fully brought up to date on almost everything. Meaning she was also aware of who Mike was, and how he was important to El. Piper hadn't really gotten to know him. Only see him a few times when she was over at the Byers house hanging with Jonathan and he was with Will.

"Eleven, come on you gotta be honest with me kid." Piper reached across and gently grabbed her hand to bring the girls attention back towards her.

"I-I went to see him."

"Like through the TV?" El shook her head. Piper knew of El's powers and knew she would check on her friends sometimes using the frequency of the TV system. She also knew that Hopper knew, but probably not to the degree as Piper did. He'd only caught her a handful of times. But Piper could hear her every other night through the walls messing with the channels. The more she thought about it, slowly, the pieces started to come together on what the girl really meant.

"You left the cabin?" Piper asked and Eleven slowly nodded her head.

Piper jumped up and ran her fingers through her hair and cursed beneath her breath as she paced. Eleven slowly shrunk back into her seat and watched the girl pace back and forth.

Piper quickly turned towards her and knelt down in front of her, grabbing El's face to make her eyes meet hers. "Did anyone at all see you?" Eleven shook her head. "Are you positive?" Eleven hesitated and shrugged her shoulders.

"If Hopper finds out." Piper whispered and before the thought could fully leave her mouth, the front door burst open with a very angry Hopper standing in the door way. Piper jumped up quickly and stood in front of Eleven. Not that she thought Hopper would do anything to her, but also knew that Eleven could fully take care of herself.

"Now...Uncle Jim before you lose your mind."

"Where did you go?" Hopper moved closer to them, the anger vibrating off his frame. "Huh? Where did you go?"

From behind her Piper could feel El stand from the table and storm around her and towards her bedroom. Piper watched as her Uncle followed after her screaming asking where she had gone over and over.

"Uncle Jim!" Piper followed after him as he pushed the bedroom door open.

"No one saw!" Eleven shouted back towards him.

"Yeah. So you thought. A mother and daughter did and they called the cops. Who else saw you?"

"No one" She spoke with more anger in her voice. "I-I don't know."

"Think damn it! Who else saw? Cause you put us in danger with going out there!" Hopper yelled, his fist tightening its hold on the door frame."

"You promised! You promised no more hiding and I could see him!" Eleven screamed.

"Ok, let's calm down. I'm sure it's not as bad as we're all thinking right now." Piper moved to gently grab his forearm to place her self between the two of them.

"No! She needs to learn that there are rules. And rules need to be followed in order for everyone in this household to be safe"

"You lie! All the time! Just lie!" Eleven screamed towards him.

"You know what, you're not listening and you're gonna have to learn." Hopper turned from the door and started to move around the cabin picking random things up. "You're grounded! No Eggo's! No TV"

Eleven let out a scream and charged found and stiffened her stance, her concentration on the TV. Hopper pulled and tugged on the cart the TV was on, but it didn't move. No matter the amount of force he used, it would not budge. His eyes glared towards Eleven and he stood up straight.

"Let up on it. Now!" He screamed. Eleven kept her concentration and shook her head. "Let up, or it's gonna be a month"

That TV was Eleven's life line. Her form of entertainment and her connection to Mike.

Hopper stood up straight and glared towards her. "Fine! You're really gonna learn." He reached down and yanked the cord from the TV. Disconnecting it completely. "No TV, period."

Piper reached up and plugged her ears to block the sound of the scream that emitted from Eleven. Her instinct was to hit the floor as she felt glass shatter around her and falling to the floor. Her head perked up when she heard the bedroom door close. Piper watched as sobs took over Eleven's body, and she reached quickly to catch the girl as she fell. Her arms wrapping around her as she cried. Piper had never seen Eleven use her powers to the intense force she just showed. She wasn't gonna lie if she didn't feel a little fear. But seeing her cry and shake with pain made her feel protective of the girl in her arms.

* * *

After she had finally calmed down, Piper gently picked El up and placed her into her bed and tucked her in. She walked to find cleansing cloths and gently wiped the blood from her nose. She looked towards her one more time before opening her bedroom door. Hopper looked towards the door the moment he heard movement. Hoping it was El, but sighed heavily when he saw that it was only his niece. She closed the door behind her tightly and crossed her arms over her chest, glaring towards the man in front of her. His shoulder's slumped and he ran his hand over his tired face.

"You couldn't have been a little gentler?" Her voice calm. No indication to how she was feeling. For moment it gave Hopper chills how much she looked liked his sister. He saw his late sister in Piper a lot. But now it was scary. "She's only a kid."

"She knows the rules" He tried to defend. "We have them to make sure she is kept safe and that they don't find her."

"I know. But she is still a kid. Cut off from her friends and the rest of the world. She lives in fear in this cabin, and all she wants is to see Mike. To feel like she's not alone." Piper walked across the cabin, her feet walking across crushed glass. "I get why you're mad, Uncle Jim. But I also see her point."

Hopper nodded his head and moved to sit down on the couch and rest his elbows on his knees. Piper walked across to join her Uncle, lopping her arm through his and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Since when did you become the adult?" He chuckled softly

"One of us has to." She smirked and pulled back to look towards him. "You're doing a good job . I know it's not easy with two teenage girls in the house. But you just sometimes gotta let us have our moment." He nodded his head "Give her some time to cool down, and then talk. And I mean talk. No grounding. No yelling. I don't know if this cabin can have another night like tonight."

The two of them looked around the cabin and saw that nearly every window was blown out. Debris across the floor and the chill air seeping into the cabin causing the both of them to shutter. Piper gave her Uncle a gentle kiss on the cheek before standing and walking back to her bedroom. She changed quickly into her pj's before grabbing her thick blanket off her bed and walking back towards Eleven's room. She quietly walked in and saw she was still sleeping, and moved into the bed beside her. Eleven let out a soft whimper in her sleep, and cuddled more into Piper chest as she wrapped both the blanket and her arms around the small girl.

* * *

Piper woke up before everyone else, quickly getting ready for school, before leaving. She knew Hopper was supposed to be up and leaving for work. But she didn't have the heart to wake him after what had happened last night. Piper pulled tighter on her jacket as she walked along the street, the crisp morning making her body shake with a chill. She hadn't heard from Jonathan since he disappeared last night and she wasn't gonna stand around and see if he as gonna pick her up.

When she finally arrived at school the parking lot was nearly full and she didn't see his car. As she walked in, she looked down the hallway to see Bill standing at his own. Piper couldn't help but watch him for a moment as he grabbed his books and turned to head to class. The sound of the first period bell snapped her out of her trance before she grabbed her own things. As she was walking towards class she also couldn't help but notice that Steve wasn't with Nancy. After leaving school yesterday she had heard a new rumors about them breaking up. Piper felt a little sympathy for him, full knowing that Nancy had a thing for Jonathan even if she didn't herself.

"And by the end of the month you will work in groups of two to finish the project."

Piper blushed slightly as she walked into the classroom a little late, earning a look from the teacher, as she moved to her seat. Once again she found herself to be sitting next to none other than Billy Hargrove. As she took her seat, the blush deepened more as she made eye contact towards him.

"And I've already made the groups for you, so don't think you can join your friends on this." The teacher grabbed the list she made from her desk, the class letting our a conjoined groan.

One bye one the teacher went down the list, with student either being happy or upset with whomever they were paired up with. It wasn't till nearly the end that Piper knew that she was matched with. And she didn't know whether to be grateful or scared.

"Piper Canton and Billy Hargrove." The teacher spoke.

Billy smiled and leaned over and whispered for only her to hear. "Guess we're going to be working together, birthday girl."

"So when do you wanna meet?" Billy asked after finally catching up to her as everyone filed into the hallway to head towards their next class.

"Uh, I don't have plans tonight. Or tomorrow." Piper shrugged and stopped before turning towards him. "We just can't meet at my place."

Billy gave her a weird look before nodding his head. "Alright. Whatever. My folks are gone tonight for some stupid party. We can start then."

"O-Ok." She shifted nervously. Almost instantly the rumors of Billy and all the other girls came to her head. "Yeah. We can do that."

"Cool." He smirked "Meet me after school, I'll drive us to my place and then I'll take ya home. Unless you wanna have Byer's escort you."

"No. No." Piper shook her head. "I haven't heard from him so I'd appreciate that."

"Alright. I'll see you later, birthday girl"

She rolled her eyes at what seemed to be her new nickname from him as Billy walked around her and down the hall towards his next class.


	6. Detroit, bitches

**Chapter Six**

**Detroit, bitches**

Piper gripped tightly to her towel as she walked back to her gym locker from the showers. As she walked passed the other lockers, she noticed the glares she'd received from Carol and her group of friends. She shared a glass with them in English and noticed the same glares when she was partnered with Billy. Piper rolled her eyes as she unlocked her locker and quickly pulled out her change of clothes. She wasn't gonna lie, Piper was nervous of going to Billy's tonight. She didn't know why she had butterflies in her stomach, but they wouldn't go away. She sighed softly as she pulled her clothes from her locker and quickly began to change into her clothes. She had just finished putting on her pullover hot pink sweater when she heard a throat clear from behind her. When Piper turned around, she came face to face with none other than Carol and her posse standing behind her.

Carol was small town pretty. With her mousy face, big brown eyes and hair that seemed to always perfectly fall down her back. She looked like every other average girl. But Piper had to role her eyes when she saw who was standing behind her. With Carol's arms crossed at her chest, she scowled at the girl in front of her.

"Carol," Piper sighed "To what do I owe the pleasure for this visit."

"Heard that you're going to Billy Hargrove's house tonight." Carol spoke

"And?"

"And don't think to fucking try anything" Carol stepped closer "Billy is mine and you should be wise not to do anything with him. If I hear that you even so much as smiled at him, I will make your life here hell."

Piper tried to fight back her laughter, but instead she failed. Piper moved to cover her mouth as she heard Carol's idle threats. The laughter seemed to falter the teen girls stance, since she looked down at Piper confused.

"What the hell is your problem, did you not understand what I said?

"No, no. I did." Piper laughed before she reached down and grabbed her backpack, and threw it over her shoulder. "I'm just laughing at the fact that you think that was gonna work on me." Piper took one step closer towards Carol, slightly looking down at the girl in front of her "You don't scare me. You're never going to scare me. Threaten me all you want but know I'm not from here. I'm from Detroit, sweetie, and we handle bitches like you a little differently." She looked her up and down. "So take that as my warning."

Piper scuffed before walking around them, slightly pumping against Carol's shoulder as she walked away. Piper wasn't phased by anything that Carol said. She has dealt with worse bullies back home. The final bell rang as she walked out into the hallway, and as she walked down the hall, she grabbed her scrunchie and pulled back her hair from her face.

* * *

Piper stood against the far wall of the parking lot, her foot tapping anxiously as she waited for Billy. She brought her cigarette to her lips and took a long drag, before blowing the smoke out to her left. As she waited she watched as people left, and even noticed the kids that Will usually hanging out with rushing towards their bikes with a red headed girl following behind them. She quickly realized that it was Billy's little sister.

"You ready to go, birthday girl?"

Piper jumped slightly to the sound of a voice, and looked to her side to notice Bill smirking towards her. She dropped her cigarette and smashed it with her foot as she turned towards him.

"You scared the shit out of me," She sighed softly as she looked towards him. Noticing the smirk still on his face and how it reached his eyes. _He has really pretty eyes_.

"Sorry, doll." Billy chuckle. "Come on, we can head back to my place and get started on this shitty project."

He turned and started to walk towards his car, assuming that she was following him. But when Billy turned to look over his shoulder, he noticed she was still standing by the wall. He gave her a confusing look, before walking back towards her.

"You coming?"

She nodded "I wanna get one thing straight first before we leave."

Billy was even more confused now. "Ok, and that would be?"

He bent down slightly so their eyes were level with each other, slightly distracting Piper. "I'm not one of these po-dunk small town girls, and don't even think a smile is gonna make me sleep with you."

"Whoa." Billy stepped back and put his hands up, "I wasn't thinking that at all, doll."

"Good." She smiled towards him and started to walk towards his car "We're on the same page then, Keg King."

Billy watched with wide eyes as she walked towards his car, opened the passenger side door and got in. Completely comfortable. He chuckled to himself slightly, before shaking his head and walking to his car. Billy knew that Piper wasn't like all the other girls in their school. She was far from it. Different. But good. She was the type of girl that wouldn't take his shit, and constantly keep him on his toes.

Billy started up his car, and instantly heavy metal started blaring through the speakers. He instantly reached forward to turn it down, but Piper shook her head and turned it back up. He looked down towards her for a moment, a smirk on his lips, before he peeled out of the parking lot and sped towards his house.

* * *

Billy was thankful that his father and stepmother were going to be gone till late tonight. The last thing he wanted to worry about was one of them coming home and finding Piper her. That would only cost him later. He sighed heavily as they both walked through the door, boxes still sitting in the living room and kitchen, left over evidence of their families move. Billy couldn't help but watch Piper as she moved through the rooms and looked around.

"We can work in the dining room," Billy spoke "Or my room?"

She turned around towards him, a slight smirk on her face. "What did I say about making moves?"

Billy chuckled "I promise, I'm not."

Piper's eyes looked down the hall and at a door she assumed was Billy's room. She bit down on her lower lip, before looking back towards him.

"Your room is fine."

Billy nodded his head before walking down the hall and pushing the door opened. Piper didn't know what she thought what his room would look like. But when she saw his room, it was completely and totally Billy. With the heavy metal posters, mixed in were photos of half naked girls, and the dim lights. His bed was dressed with dark, almost black, sheets. A ash tray off to the side on what looked like a vanity, cluttered with random thing. A tall mirror pressed against the wall and clothes spilling from the closet that was slightly open.

"Sorry for the mess," Billy chuckled as he kicked some clothes under this head. _Why the fuck am I nervous_, Billy thought to himself.

Piper shrugged her shoulders, showing that she didn't care, before setting her bag onto the floor. She sat down on the carpet floor and crossed her legs, digging into her backpack and quickly began to pull things out for their English project.

"So how do you wanna start this?" She smiled

* * *

It had been a few hours since they started working on their English project. Papers strewn throughout his bedroom between the two of them. Billy sat with his back against his bed and Piper beside him. Every one and a while he would shoot glances towards her, smiling at the firm look of concentration on her face. Her plump lower lip between her teeth.

"I still can't figure out how we can solve this fake solution for these damn families" Piper groaned "They hate each other over something stupid that even Shakespeare couldn't figure out, so he had the two teens kill themselves."

Bill chuckled at her frustration before grabbing the paper from her hands. "Well it's theoretical, we can make it up."

Piper sighed and looked towards the clock that was sitting on his bedside table and cursed slightly. She had been so concentrated on everything she didn't realize how late it was.

"Fuck, my Uncle is gonna kill me." She groaned and started to gather her things.

"Whoa, whoa doll. Slow down." Billy reached down and gently grabbed her wrist, stopping her actions and causing her to look up towards him. "I'll take ya home, and I'm sure your Uncle will understand. We were working on a project. And it's the weekend, how mad can he get?"

"Yeah I'm sure you dropping me off is gonna make it less intense. He'll see a boy and go all "Chief" on me." She chuckled and blushed slightly.

"W-Why do you live with your Uncle?" Bill asked, blurting the question out of his mouth without really thinking. He watched as the smile on Piper's face began to fade, and she slowly pulled away from him. Billy wanted nothing more than to see her face lit up again.

"Uh...that's bit of a heavy topic." She spoke softly and finished gathering up her things.

Billy decided not to push the topic any farther. He helped her grab her things, before the two of them moved off his bedroom floor, and started walking back towards his car. The drive back towards the cabin was mostly in silence, and when they got to the end of the street, Billy turned the engine off and turned towards her.

"I-I'm sorry if I crossed a line." He whispered. _What the fuck. Since when do I care if I hurt someones fucking feelings_.

"No, it's ok." Piper sighed and turned towards Billy. "I'm not dumb. I hear the rumors at school. Everyone thinking I'm Hopper's love child. Or a runaway that he picked up. But I am really his niece."

Billy nodded his head "People can be stupid."

She shrugged her shoulders. "The truth is my parents died in a accident almost a year ago. They were driving back from the mall when a drunk driver struck the car going over 100 mph."

Billy cringed and cursed under his breath, before letting out a heavy sigh. "Shit. I'm sorry"

Piper shrugged her shoulders "It's ok. I'm as sad as I used to be over it."

Billy nodded his head. He knew exactly what she meant. He'd lost his mom and even after all these years it still hurt and he missed her like crazy. Every night he wished that she'd never left and that was with her back in California. Not having to deal with his father. As Billy was sitting in his thought, Piper reached over and grabbed the handle, drawing him out of his thoughts.

"Thanks for the ride, Billy." She smiled towards him before getting out and heading up the trail towards the cabin. Half way up Piper could hear Billy's Camero start up and drive off.

* * *

The first thing that drew her attention when she walked into the cabin was that it was cleaned up, a little cold, but quite. She looked around not being able to find either El or Hopper. _Maybe they left?_ But she knew that wasn't likely, cause Hopper would never risk leaving with El. She walked towards El's room and saw that it was empty and the lights turned off. _What the hell?_ She sighed heavily and walked around the cabin but found that she was no where to be seen.

"God damn it, El." Piper sighed before throwing down her bag from her shoulder and rushing towards the phone to call the station. But Hopper's desk phone rang and ran, with no answer.

* * *

Piper woke up with a groan, her back cracking as she moved up from her position on the couch. The cabin still empty without a sign from Hopper or El. After calling down to the station again and not getting an answer, Piper gathered up her stuff, and started walking towards the road to head into town. She knew if anyone else was to possibly know where Hopper was, it was the Byers. When she rushed up the steps, she knocked furiously on the door hoping for an answer.

"Sweetie?" Joyce looked down towards her confused "J-Jonathan isn't here."

Joyce took a step forward and pulled the door closed tightly behind her.

"I'm not here looking for Jonathan. I'm actually looking for Hopper. He didn't come home at all last night and I'm not getting an answer at the station."

Joyce looked down towards her confused "H-He's not here at all. I've actually been trying to get a hold of him too."

"Fuck," Piper sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "I'm gonna head down to the station. Maybe someone knows where he is?"

Joyce nodded her head and looked over her shoulder back towards the door. "I'll call around and see if someone's heard from him."

Piper looked at Joyce up and down, seeing how nervous she seemed and how she kept looking over her shoulder.

"Is everything ok?" Piper asked, looking at her confused.

"Oh? Yeah." She laughed nervously before smiling down at the girl in front of her. "Will's just sick, been up all night taking care of him."

From behind them the sound of a door pulling up caught their attention. Bob, Joyce's boyfriend, got out of his car with an arm full of board games. He smiled towards the both of them as he walked up towards the house.

"Bob, what are you doing here?" Joyce looked towards him confused.

Piper took that as her cue to leave and started down towards the driveway to head into town and towards the station. She fisted her hands into her coat pocket as she walked, shivering slightly from the cold breeze that seemed to blow through her. She was so lost in her thought that she didn't hear the Camero pull up beside her.

"Birthday girl, what are you doing walking all the way out here?" Bill asked as she leaned across the center console of his car "Get in." She didn't even hesitate as she opened the passenger side door and got inside. "How is it that I'm always saving your ass?"

Piper rolled her eyes "I don't have a car so my only option is to walk. Guess I just gotta be thankful you always seem to be there."

"Why are you walking around the side of the road alone?"

"I'm looking for my Uncle. He didn't come home last night." Piper sighed as she relaxed into her seat with the heat blasting towards her.

Bill nodded his head and drove towards town, pulling up outside of the station and parking the car.

"Thanks, Billy." Piper smiled towards him. "Ya know, you're really not the dick that Steve and some of the school tries to make you out to be."

Billy laughed "Thank you?"

"What?" She shrugged "I can see through that bad boy mask that you try to push out. Cause if that was true then you wouldn't be helping me. You'd just drive right past me and not given a shit."

Billy looked towards her in silence, not really sure what to say. Once again she had left him speechless, before leaving and heading towards the station.

"Hey!" Billy shouted and got out of his car, quickly walking towards her "I'm coming with."

"You sure?" Piper asked and he nodded his head "Don't want you walking alone again in case he's not here. I don't need to pick Max up for another couple of hours."

Piper smiled towards him. "Alright, Hargrove."

Piper reached down and grabbed his hand, leading him up the steps and towards the station. She couldn't help but notice how warm his hand felt in hers, and how it felt right in hers. She blushed slightly as they walked into the station and towards the front desk.

* * *

Billy and Piper spent hours looking for her Uncle. Soon giving up and sitting in his car at the end of her street. Just talking. Billy didn't know what was happening. But he felt a change. It was like the more he talked to this girl the more she seemed to crack the hard shell her placed around himself. He wanted to spend more time with her. Whenever he dropped her off or she left, he couldn't help but wanna spend more time with her.

"Why are you laughing at me?" Piper chuckled as she looked towards Billy. "It really hurt when I fell on that ice. You try ice skating,with no skates, surfer boy."

"I wouldn't, that's why I'm laughing."

"I was six, I didn't know any better." Piper couldn't help but laugh with him. "Uh thanks for today Billy."

"Thank you? For what?" He looked towards her slightly confused "I just drove you around looking for your Uncle."

"Yeah, but you didn't have to do that. It was nice of you." She smiled "Usually Jonathan is the only person that's able to drive me around. But he's been M.I.A lately and I don't know where he's been."

"It's not a problem at all." Billy shrugged his shoulders "Just don't tell anyone that I've been nice."

"Why"

Billy shrugged "Gotta keep my reputation with these...what do you call them?"

"Po-dunk town teens?" Piper asked with a confused look on her face.

"Yeah, them." Billy shrugged.

"Don't worry, Keg King." Piper reached across and gently pat his lap, before letting her hands rest against his thigh. "Your secret is safe with me."

Billy looked down towards her hand, before changing to look back towards her face, and then her lips._ I want to kiss her. I need to fucking kiss her_. Bill thought to himself, and soon he slowly moved towards her. His eyes looking up to hers to see if she was hesitant. Pulling away, any sign that she didn't want this. But she didn't move.

Billy reached up and grabbed her cheek softly and pulled her towards him, their lips meeting in a soft kiss at first. Piper hesitated at first, before reaching up and wrapping her arms around his neck, her fingers fisting in his hair gently. Their lips moved against each others, the kiss deepening with each second. Bill's hands moving from her cheeks before moving to pull her over the console and to straddle his lap.

"So much for not making any moves," Piper whispered against his lips.

**AN**: Please leave a review with thoughts. I have been asked if Billy is gonna be cannon? And parts of the Billy that we know is still there. Piper isn't gonna change him over night, or if at all. But he'll be a different Billy with her. I think how Billy is a front due to his abuse and mother's death. But that's my opinion.


	7. Tire Iron Swing

**Chapter Seven**

**Tire Iron Swing**

The next morning Piper woke up once again, alone, still no sign of either her Uncle or El. After leaving Billy's car she once again tried all night trying to reach her Uncle through the walkie system with no reply from the other end. She got up from her bed and walked towards the bathroom to take a quick shower, noticing almost immediately in the mirror that her lips were still swollen from last night. Piper wasn't still fully sure if she should regret making out with Billy in his car last night. How he acted around her was different from how he acted in school and around his friends. But she also didn't wanna be naive about the situation.

After her shower she changed into a pair of jeans and slipped on her favorite pair of sneakers, along with a hoodie to put on under her winter jacket. If it was gonna be cold like yesterday, she was gonna need it with all the walking around she was gonna be doing. She threw a few things into her backpack in case she got hungry or she was gonna be out late. Piper knew that was something was up. Her Uncle had never been gone this long without a single word from him. She was worried.

After a quick breakfast she headed out towards town, it taking about an hour for her to get to the station just to learn that once again no one had seen her Uncle or heard from him. Piper was walking back towards the Byers' when she saw someone she recognized.

"Steve?" Piper called out, catching his attention as he turned around towards her.

Steve stood beside her holding two buckets of meat, a nailed up bat in his backpack, and standing beside him was Dustin almost with the exact same stuff, except a head seat.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" Steve called out as she walked towards them.

"I've been trying to find my Uncle." She looked down towards Dustin. "What's up with the meat?"

Steve and Dustin looked towards each other before looking at her and quickly replying with a 'nothing'. Piper rolled her eyes and gave the both of them a more stern look.

"I know about last year." She quickly informed them. Both of them giving her a shocked look. "My Uncle didn't keep anything from me, and I know that bat" Piper pointed to the bat strapped to Steve's back. "Means something is going on. So I'm going to once again ask, what's with the meat?"

Steve sighed and handed her one of the buckets and pulled a glove from one of his hands. "It's gonna take a long time to catch you up, so you're gonna have to help us out."

* * *

"So you're telling me that this...lizard...thing ate your cat is now on the loose?" Piper asked as she followed behind Steve down the railroad tracks, throwing down meat onto the floor below them leaving a trail behind.

"It's not a lizard." Dustin answered quickly and turned towards her. "It's a demogorgon"

"Right." She nodded, trying to force her brain to understand what was going on. "So we're leading it to what? Catch it? Kill it?"

"That's the plan." Steve sighed "Cause if we don't it'll continue to grow and that's the last thing we're gonna want."

The three of them continued down the path through the woods and towards the junk yard that was left abandoned. Piper looked over the vast, vacant area and then turned her attention to Dustin.

"This is where we're leading it?" She asked looking down towards the boy.

"Yeah. It's perfect." He looked up towards her. "You dump the rest of the meat in between the school bus and the car, and we'll use the bus as a safe look out area. Steve and I will board it up with whatever we can find around here."

"You really thought this out, haven't ya kid?" Piper asked with a chuckle.

"We gotta get rid of this thing," Dustin shrugged "Best I could think of."

The three of them split up and went about their respective jobs. Piper dumped the remainder of the meat from both the buckets into the spot Dustin had mentioned before. She tried not to gag at the rank smell that seemed to emit from the pile. Steve came up beside her with a canister of gasoline and dumped it over. She looked up towards him with a confused look on her face.

"Once it get's close enough and starts eating, we light the fucker on fire." Steven answered her unspoken questions, pulling a lighter from his pocket to show her. Piper nodded her head in agreement.

"I'm surprised Hopper told you everything," Steve looked towards her, removing his gloves to push his hair back from his face. "I don't think anyone would believe any of it without proof."

Instantly Piper thought of Eleven, but she couldn't let Steve know about that part. "My uncle has never lied to me. I trust him."

Steve nodded his head, understanding where she was coming from. From across the lot they could hear the sound of someone shouting towards them, and looked up to see Lucas and Max waving towards them.

"The reinforcements are here," Dustin smiled waving them over. "About time."

"What is Billy's sister doing here? Does she know whats going on?"

Steve looked over towards the two teens rushing towards them, a confused look on his face as well. Piper looked down and nudged Dustin who shrugged his shoulders before rushing to meet with Lucas.

"How do you know that's Hargrove's sister?" Steve asked

"Billy and I are..." She left the sentence hanging, not fully knowing what title to give them. _Friends? Are we friends?_ "Project partners for English. Was over his house the other day and saw pictures." Piper lied quickly on her feet.

Steve nodded his head, accepting the answer, before moving around to place random car parts around the bus to use it as a shield. Piper threw her bag into the bus and riffled around the lot looking for things that she could use for a weapon, just in case. The only thing she came across was a tire iron. She pocketed it into her back pocket and moved around, Max helping her grabbing stuff to place around the bus.

"So how did you get roped into this?" Max asked her as they carried a car door towards the bus "They tell you some elaborate story too?"

Piper chuckled and shook her head. "My Uncle filled me on most of it, but then Dustin and Steven caught me on the current stuff. What about you?"

"Lucas told me some wild story. I don't fully believe it, but they seem to so I'm here to get my proof." She smiled towards her, before giving her a weird look. "You're the girl my step brother has been hanging around with right?"

Piper gave her a weird look. "H-How do you know that?"

"I saw you two around town yesterday. He dropped me off at the arcade, and then I saw you two by the station. You were holding hands..." Max shrugged her shoulders.

"Your stepbrother and I are..." Piper bit down on her lips, the memory of this make-out session in his car came to her memory. "_English project partners_."

Piper decided to keep with the same answer she gave Steve.

"Oh, that's too bad." Max sighed and brushed her long red hair from her face. "You seem cool. Thought maybe you're the one he's going on a date with tonight."

Piper's back straightened up slightly and look towards Max with wide eyes. "D-Date?"

Max could see the look in Piper's eyes before she covered it up quickly, and turned away to head back towards the pile of rubble. Max couldn't help but feel she just gave information that wasn't supposed to.

* * *

Night feel over the lot quickly, everything set with the five of them safely boarded into the bus. Steve sat towards the front of the bus on one of the benches, flicking the lighter in his hand over and over. Dustin seemed to be nervous, pacing back and forth over the length of the bus with Max sitting down beside Piper. She had found two more tire irons in the lot and made sure they were close by in case. Piper had never seen a demogorgon, but from Dustin's description it was scary looking. Lucas sat at the top of the bus with binoculars.

"Are you sure it wasn't a bear? Or maybe a stray dog? I mean Hawkins is surrounded by woods." Max asked as she watched Dustin pace.

"No it wasn't a dog. Or a bear." He huffed "If you don't believe us, then leave and go home."

Max scuffed and shook her head before heading towards the ladder and going up to join Lucas. Steve chuckled slightly and shook his head.

"That's it man, show her you don't care." He nodded his head as he flipped open his lighter again.

"I don't care." Dustin spoke defensively.

"Oh for the love of god, please don't tell me you're giving this boy lame ass dating advice." Piper spoke rolling her her eyes "Cause that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard."

"What? It totally works." Steve threw his hands up in defense. "I would know."

"Oh really." Piper chuckled and shook her head "And that's worked out so well for you Steve? I've heard of this shit going on with Nancy. Showing you don't care if the opposite of what you should be doing." Piper stood and walked across to sit next to Steve. "If you like a girl Dustin, you tell her. Don't play games. Because in the end it ends up irritating us."

Dustin looked down towards Piper for a moment as if her was thinking, before nodding his head.

"So you're the love expert here then?" Steve asked with a smirk.

"I think between the two of us here, I have more knowledge than you do, Harrington."

Steve let out a loud laugh. "You've got balls, Canon. If you're the expert maybe then you can tell me what the hell is going on with Nancy."

Piper cringed "I don't know if I should get into that mess. I mean, I know the answer to your question, but you're not gonna like what I have to tell you."

Steve looked towards her confused, but before either of them could say a word, the sound of a loud shriek sounded from the woods. The sound sent fear straight through Piper's body and she quickly turned to look out the window, and searched along the tree lines for a source.

"You see anything?" Dustin asked as another shriek sounded, this time closer.

"No." Steve and Piper spoke at the same time, both turning to each other, their fear mirroring into the others facial expression.

"Lucas?! You see anything?" Dustin called up towards the opening the ladder was placed into. Steve reached quickly for his bat, and Piper gripped the large tire iron into her hands.

"You got enough force with that?" Steve asked asking her, his adrenaline starting to course thought his veins. Piper nodded her head.

"Softball captain since middle school. I know how to hit something with some force."

Piper gripped to it tightly and moved to look out towards the window to look for any sign of life.

"Ten o'clock" Lucas shouted from the roof "Ten o'clock."

Piper moved to another window and looked out to see a small, animal like, figure in the fog along the tree line. Right near the pile of meat that Piper had placed earlier. The figure sniffed at it, but wasn't eating at it.

"Why isn't he taking the bait?" Piper asked, turning her attention towards Steve and Dustin.

Dustin shrugged his shoulders "Maybe he's not hungry?"

"Or he's sick of cow." Steve spoke, standing from his position and walking towards the door.

"Whoa! You're not going out there are you?" Piper spoke quickly and walking towards him. "You don't know what you're going out to."

"Well we can't stand around and wait for something to happen." Steve spoke "You got a better idea?"

"Yeah. Back-up." She shrugged off her coat so she'd have better movement. "I'm coming out with you."

"The hell you are!" Steve shouted "You definitely don't know what you're getting yourself into. You weren't here last year! You don't know how these things are!"

"Hey!" Dustin shouted causing them both to look towards him. "Piper coming with you isn't a bad idea. You need back-up Steve."

"Thanks kid," Piper nodded towards him. "I'm not a weak little girl that needs protecting, Harrington." Piper gripped her weapon of choice and moved towards the door. "Now let's go."

Steve huffed and nodded his head, quickly learning that arguing with Piper was gonna waste time they didn't have. She was a stubborn girl and once her mind was made, it was made and it wasn't gonna change. Steve also got a feeling over the small time her spent with her that she'd have no trouble defending herself.

"Get ready, ok kid? The moment you see an opening you set that fucker on fire." Steven spoke to Dustin, tossing the lighter towards him.

Steve opened the door, Piper close behind him, before Dustin closed it. Piper could feel her heart pounding through her chest as she closely followed behind Steve. He taunted the thing, whatever it was, to get his attention. But the movement of something to Piper's left caught her attention.

"Steve." She spoke with a panicked voice. "S-Steve."

Piper was able to get a clear view of what they were dealing with now. It was crouched low to the floor like a dog, but it face was far from anything friendly. Her back straightened as it moved closer to her, and started to make a sound. Almost like it was purring.

"Steve! Piper!" Lucas shouted from the top of the bus "Three o'clock. Three o'clock"

Steve turned his head and quickly saw what Lucas and Piper were trying to get his attention about. When Piper looked around them, she saw more. They were hunting, and ready to attack.

"Abort!" Dustin shouted from the doorway of the bus "Abort mission!"

"Steve!" Piper pulled on his hand at one lurched towards them, making Piper jump back. Piper has been afraid before. She felt it the night her parents never came home. But this was a different kind of fear. It was like she was staring death straight in the face.

The face of the demogorgon opened up and quickly the pack started to move towards them. Steve reached down and grabbed her hand, pulling her back towards the bus. She could feel them straight behind them. Piper felt her hand being pulled from Steve's as they neared the bus. She felt the sharp pain shoot up her leg and blood curdling scream leaving her lips. Steve turned quickly to see one of the demogorgon's attacking Piper's leg.

"Piper!" He screamed, and he watched as she reached down and grabbed the tire iron in her hand, knocking the thing across it's face and sending it flying across the lot. Steve moved quickly to wrap his arm around her.

He moved to push her into the bus first, nearly throwing her, before slamming the door tightly behind him.

"Fuck! Fuck!" Piper screamed as she reached towards her leg and felt the warm blood moving down her calf. "What the fuck was that!?" She screamed.

The loud sound of the demogorgon's hitting against the side of the bus over powered the screams of all of them in the bus. But all seemed to stop when they a loud bang from the roof. Piper bit down on her lower lip to silence herself, wanting nothing more than to cry.

Everyone's attention went towards the opening of the bus, and Max was the first to look up and let out a scream as she came face to face with a demogorgon. Steve moved quickly to pull her behind him. But before anything could happen, a loud shriek was sounded, catching the demogorgon's attention. Everyone seemed to be frozen for a moment, before they quickly began to retreat.

"W-What's happening?" Piper spoke as everyone rushed towards the window to see them all running back into the woods.

"Did we scare them?" Lucas asked?

"No." Steve shook his head "They are running towards something. They are being called."

* * *

All five of them sat waiting inside the bus, not fully feeling safe enough to leave from the shelter they had created. Steve had pushed up Piper's pant leg to inspect the damage that was done by the demogorgon.

"It's not that bad. The bleeding has stopped. I think it's just a superficial wound." Steve spoke as he used some scrap material to wrap around the three claw marks going down her calf and towards her ankle.

"Sure doesn't feel like it." She hissed slightly as he tightened the bandage. "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it." Steve looked up towards her. "You were pretty bad ass."

Piper smiled towards him and took his hand as he helped her stand from the bench she was sitting on. She hissed slightly as she put pressure on the leg, but felt the pain dull away the longer she stood.

"You gonna be able to walk on that?" He asked as she bent down to pull down her pant leg.

"Y-Yeah. I'll be fine." She smiled towards him, before turning towards the kids. "Alright we need to get out of here, in case they come back. We don't wanna be sitting ducks just waiting to be eaten."

"Where's the closest we can go?" Max asked

"Byers' place." Dustin spoke

"Alright. Let's go." Steve nodded his head.

"Our cabin is near the Byers'. My uncle keeps a shot gun and few other things in the house. If those things come back, we need more than just a bat and a tire iron to keep them away."

"Do you know how to use a gun?" Lucas asked with a slightly worried look on his face.

"My Uncle is Jim Hopper, what do you think?" Piper looked towards him, as if that were a stupid question.

"Right," Lucas nodded.

Quickly they all rushed off the bus and back down the trail they had originally come down. Piper towards the front of the pack, and Steve towards the back – in case any of the demogorgon's came back.

"You were pretty awesome back there," Max smiled up towards Piper as they walked. "You don't even know us and you're quick to defend us."

Piper shrugged "I just...have this feeling like I already know you guys."

She smiled down towards the girl and it was like it finally hit her. Eleven. She had been missing just as long as Hopper. They were both the reason for why she felt like she already knew these people. And now with the fear that was sitting in her stomach, the worry came back too. Piper had no choice but to pray that the two of them were together and safe.

When they arrived to the cabin, Piper worked quickly to walk towards the hall closet and grabbed her Uncle's gun, and grabbing the utility belt and bullets from inside the case. Steve stayed back on the front porch as the look out with Dustin and Lucas. Piper had sent Max towards the kitchen to find a few flashlights in case they would need those too.

"All set," Max called from behind her.

"Awesome" Piper loaded the gun, before placing it into the holster she'd attached to her belt. "Let's get out of here and pray that Joyce or my Uncle are at the Byers' house."

Max nodded her head and followed after Piper as they joined the rest of the gang, and quickly walked towards the Byers' house. Piper didn't lift her hand from the holster the entire walk, prepared to defend those she was already starting to feel like were her family.


	8. Morse Code

**Chapter Eight**

**Morse Code**

Piper felt a sense of relief when they finally turned the corner onto the street the Byers' house was on, but it quickly turned to dread when she saw that all the lights were off inside the house. Piper sighed and shivered slightly as they neared the house, quickly moving everyone inside and closing the door tightly behind them. Piper quickly searched around the house,and noticed that no one was home.

"Fuck," She cursed under her breath as she walked room to room and seeing one was home "Find anything Harrington?"

"No!" Steve shouted back "You?"

Piper walked towards the front of the house, tripping over the drawings that seemed to be decorated all around the house.

"No! Just these stupid drawings" She sighed and walked back towards the kitchen where everyone was waiting. "What the fuck is going on in here?"

Everyone else seemed to be just as confused as she was as they took seats on the couches and chairs in the living room. Steve set the bat down beside the chair, running his hand through his hair, before turning towards Piper.

"What should we do now?" He asked

"I'm gonna call down to the station and see if maybe my Uncle has finally turned up?"

Piper walked towards the kitchen and quickly grabbed the phone off the wall receiver and dialed down to the station. She angrily hung up the phone and slammed it against the wall when she was once again told her Uncle hadn't turned up. When Piper walked back into the living room she came upon Lucas and Dustin arguing.

"Hey! What the hell is going on in here?" She shouted causing the two of them to look towards her. "Don't we have enough going on besides you two bickering at each other?"

"S-Sorry" The two of them muttered before separating.

Piper sighed softly and moved to push her hair from her face into a pony tail. "Alright, my Uncle still hasn't been to the station and is still missing."

The sound of a car engine grabbed everyone's attention, causing everyone to rush towards the windows. Piper instantly knew whose car it was as it pulled up. She rushed towards the door and yanked it open and raced towards Jonathan.

"Where the fuck have you been?"

Her body collided with his as she nearly jumped into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her and held her, hugging her back tightly. Th feeling that went through her body could only be described as relief. With her Uncle and Eleven missing she could feel the panic start to creep into her veins whenever she thought about it for too long. But seeing Jonathan made some of that go away. Piper pulled back away from him and smiled, before slapping his arm hard causing him to step back from her.

"What is wrong with you!?" She screamed at him "Two days, Byers. Two days"

"Ow! Sorry." He rubbed his arm where she'd smacked him. "W-We've been figuring stuff out."

"Nancy?" Steve spoke from the porch "W-What are you doing here?"

Piper looked around Jonathan's shoulder to see Nancy standing by the side of Jonathan's car.

"Steve?" Nancy asked as she stepped closer to us. Never answering his question, just staring at him in confusion.

"We've been trying to find Will and Mike. We've been looking all over for them." Jonathan explained "We tried looking at the lab, but the power was out and we heard..."

Jonathan looked towards Piper before looking back towards Steve.

"She knows everything. Hopper kept her up to date basically with everything that happened last year."

"Have you checked in the lab?" Piper asked, looking between Nancy and Jonathan. "I-I don't know why I didn't think if it before. But I know he's been up there a few times before."

"No." Jonathan nodded his head "Great idea. We should head down see if they know anything. That's were Will goes to get his tests done."

"What about the kids," Piper looked towards Steve.

"Kids?" Nancy spoke

As if on cue Lucas, Max and Dustin all walked out of the house and towards the group of teenagers.

"We're going to the lab?" Dustin asked "You guys talk pretty loud so we heard pretty much everything."

"Get in the car," Piper ordered before moving towards Jonathan's car, everyone piling in quickly before Jonathan pulled out of his driveway and sped down the road towards Hawkins lab.

* * *

When Jonathan pulled up outside of Hawkins lab, everyone piled out of the car and rushed towards the gate. Piper headed towards the security booth and looked for a button that would access it open. But every time she pushed it, the gate wouldn't move.

"Why is the power out?" Nancy asked as she looked up towards the building.

When Piper stepped out she looked towards the ominous building, encased completely in darkness. That sense of dread and fear filled the pit of her stomach as she looked up towards the building.

"We gotta find a way in. My mom and Will could be in there." Jonathan spoke from beside her. Piper reached down and comfortingly took his hand.

Before anyone could say a word, a loud shriek sounded from the building, catching everyone's attention and causing them to look towards the building. The hold Piper had on Jonathan's tightened in fear.

"We need to get in there."

Steve moved around towards the security booth, quickly moving to try and find some sort of switch that was gonna open the door. Piper pulled away from Jonathan and joined him inside the booth looking for a power switch. But, sadly, the group had nothing else to do but wait and see.

It felt like hours had gone by before slowly the power of the lab began to turn on, and shining lights down on the kids. Piper, Jonathan and Steve jumped up quickly from their spots on the ground and rushed towards the security booth and started hitting the switches again, and thankfully, the gate slowly rolled open.

"Thank, fucking, god." Piper muttered before rushing out of the booth and running along with the group towards the front of the lab. Her heart racing hard against her chest as she raced towards the front of the lab. She couldn't help but feel hope race through her body when she saw her Uncles truck parked up front.

As they all rushed towards the door well, they saw the front doors burst open, a crowd of people running towards them. Piper's eyes widened when saw her Uncle rushing towards her, Will Byers thrown over his shoulders.

"Get in the fucking cars!" Hopper shouted towards them, causing them all the falters, sensing the panic coming from everyone.

Turning on their heels, Jonathan and Nancy raced towards his car and started it up, everyone piling inside. Piper followed her Uncle towards his truck and hopped inside after he'd placed Will into the backseat.

"Where the hell have you been?" Piper screamed towards her Uncle, before he threw the car into reverse and sped out of the parking lot.

* * *

Piper paced back and forth in the living room of the Byers home, everyone pilled inside. Will laying across the couch with Jonathan beside him, and her Uncle shouting into the phone trying to get help to Hawkins. She bit down nervously on her nails and jumped slightly from the sound of her Uncle hanging up the phone. She looked towards him and instantly moved towards his side and wrapped her arms around him. Holding onto him tightly and burying her face into his chest.

"Hey, hey. It's ok." He gently rubbed the top of her head and kissed it softly, before wrapping his arms around her shaking frame.

"Is help coming?" Mike asked as he walked into the kitchen. "They aren't coming are they?"

"I don't know kid," Hopper sighed softly as Piper pulled away from her Uncle. "You ok?" He asked Piper as he caressed her cheek.

"Y-Yeah." She spoke with a shaky voice. "I just got scared when I hadn't heard from you. I thought that something had happened to you. L-Like mom and dad."

That hit Jim right in the chest and he felt like his heart was gonna give when he heard the pain in his nieces voice. He grabbed her and held her tightly again. "I'm not going anywhere. Don't you worry. I'm right here."

She nodded her head and let out another shaky breath before pulling back again and wiping her eyes. Steve moved forward and rubbed her back gently in comfort, and she turned towards him and smiled towards him gratefully.

"We need to find a solution." Joyce spoke from the door way, sadness and exhaustion in her voice. "We need to kill this fucking thing."

* * *

Everyone worked together to come up with a solution for what was happening, feeling the panic from every single person in the room as they suggested their own ideas.

"Will is the Mindflayers spy. We can use him to try and get information from it, on how to kill it." Mike spoke from the front of the group. "He's our only chance."

"And how do we do that?" Piper asked, "Once he wakes up he's gonna tell that thing where we are, and then gonna send those demo...demo-dogs for us"

"Not unless we make it so he doesn't know where we are." Mike spoke up. "We have to make it so he doesn't know."

"We have the shed out back." Joyce spoke up. "We can set that up and make it so he can't tell where he is."

Hopper nodded his head. "Ok. We do this and we do this right. Jonathan, Steve and Nancy go out back gut the shed and tape up everything and anything that will give away where we are." They all nodded and quickly went to where Hopper told them, "Joyce, you and I are gonna ask the questions and figure out how we're gonna get this information from him." He looked towards Piper "Piper you're gonna be in charge of the walkie system so we can feed that information back to you and put it together. Kids, stay here and help her with that. Got it?"

The entire group nodded their heads in agreement and quickly broke off and rushed to help in any way they could. They were on a mission, and knew the military wasn't coming any time soon, so they were doing this alone. Once everything was set, Hopper came out and grabbed Will from the couch and carried him out towards the shed. Piper sat down at the table with Max and Lucas sitting beside her and Dustin leaning against the kitchen counter. Jonathan, Mike, Hopper and Joyce were out in the shed with Will.

"You guys ready?" Hopper spoke through the walkie. Piper picked it up quickly to answer back.

"We're ready." She looked up towards the group "And now we wait."

Minutes slowly ticked by as they all sat in silence waiting for anything to come through. The lights flickered every once and a while, that being the only sign that anything was happening back in the shed.

"Why is it taking so long?" Dustin asked the impatience clear in his voice.

"It's gonna take some work." Nancy sighed softly "It seems that this...thing has a tight hold on Will. But they can do it. I know they can."

It took a little longer but soon codes started to come through the walkie system. Meticulous beeps. Dot, space, Dot.

"What the hell is that?" Dustin spoke confused.

"Morse Code." Piper spoke and quickly rushed looking around for a piece of paper and started writing the dashes.

"I remember this. We learned it at camp." Lucas spoke and listened to the dots.

"Good, you can help me decode it."

Message by message, they worked together to write down each and every letter that Hopper sent out to them. It took twenty minutes, but Piper held up the paper and turned it around to everyone to be able to see the message.

"Close the gate," They spoke in unison.

"What the hell does that mean?" Piper asked, looking back down at the page in confusion.

But instead of getting an answer back, the phone began to ring causing everyone to jump up from the loud noise. Steve rushed quickly and tried to lodge the phone from the wall, knowing the ring would signal Will of exactly where he was. Piper rushed across the room and grabbed the bat from the living room.

"Out of the way!" She shouted, causing Steve to jump back as she slammed the bat against the phone. Lodging it from the wall and silencing the ring.

"You don't think he heard that did you?" Dustin spoke from back in the kitchen, everyone turning towards him with a dumb-founded look.

It was a long pause of silence before the sound of the demogorgon could be heard in the distance. Quickly everyone began to move knowing they were coming for them. Piper grabbed her gun from her holster and checked the bullets. Hopper came through the back door with everyone else, the door slamming behind them, as everyone took a stance in the living room. Piper stood beside Steve, who was tightly grasping his bat, gun pointed towards the door. The shriek of the demogorgon's could be heard coming closer and closer almost sounding like they were pacing, before it stopped. Silence.

"W-What are they doing?" Max whispered from behind Piper.

"I-I don't know." She whispered back.

Everyone took a jump back as one of them came crashing through the window, falling to the floor dead.

"What the fuck?" Steve spoke, looking down towards it confused.

The front door flew open and everyone looked, aimed, and waited to see what, or rather who, had thrown it open. Piper gasped when she saw who walked through the front door. Everyone froze in shock, lowering their weapons slowly, as Eleven walked through the door.

"El?" Dustin whispered before the room seemed to burst into action.

Hopper and Piper were the first to move towards her. They both wrapped their arms around her tightly.

"Oh my god you scared me so fucking much." Piper cried happily as she held El tightly, before pulling back and looking down over her face. "You look different. But a good different."

"Bitchin'?"

Piper laughed and nodded her head "Totally bitchin'."

Piper reached up with her thumb and gently wiped the blood from El's nose, as the rest of the group rushed to say 'hello' to Eleven. Piper smiled and stepped back so she was able to say hello. To everyone else she had been gone for a year. Mike was the last person to hold her. She couldn't help the smile that widened across her face, knowing how desperately she's been wanting to see Mike.

"I'm so happy you're ok. I never gave up on you." Mike cried happily, pulling away from their hug. "I've been calling you non stop."

"I know." Eleven spoke softly. "I heard"

"How come you never answered?"

Eleven looked at him hesitatingly, but Hopper answered for her. "Because I wouldn't let her."

"Excuse me?" Mike yelled and quickly turned towards Hopper. But before anything else could be said, he'd grabbed Mike by the wrist and pulled him back towards a bedroom.

Piper moved back towards Eleven and hugged her again, gently rocking her back and forth in their embrace.

"Where have you been? I was so worried about you when I didn't hear from you. Had me scared shitless, kid." Piper sighed and pulled back.

"Wait...you know El?" Nancy asked with a confused look on her face. "How?"

"I live with my Uncle. Where do you think she's been staying this entire time?" Piper spoke.

"You've known this whole time!" Dustin asked in shock "God damn you're a good secret keeper."

"I told you my Uncle kept me up to date on everything. I wasn't lying." She smiled down towards El, before bending down and kissing her temple. She pulled away and walked towards the kitchen as the rest of the gang caught up with her.

~x~

"So you'd be able to do this El?" Piper asked from the back of the group as they all stood in the kitchen. "You'd be able to close it?"

Eleven nodded her head "I can do it."

Hopper sighed softly "You're not hearing me kid. It's not the same down there."

"But we have a problem," Mike spoke up. "We have to get the Mindflayer out of Will. If we close the gate and cut the Mindflayer off, it will kill Will in the process since he's in Will's mind."

"He always says that this thing likes it cold." Joyce spoke up. "So we need to make it comfortable."

"Like a virus." Piper spoke up. "You need to make it so the virus doesn't wanna be inside the host's body any more."

Joyce nodded her head agreeing. "So we need to burn it out of him. Make it so it leaves his body before the gate is closed."

Hopper reached into his pocket and grabbed a set of his keys "And we need to do it in a place he doesn't know, so those things don't come after you." He handed Joyce his keys. "Go to my place, he's never been there before so he won't be able to lead them anywhere."

Hopper rushed quickly to grab Will from his bedroom, wrapping him in a blanket, and following out the door with Jonathan and Joyce, reciting the directions to him. Everyone watched from the kitchen as they loaded heather after heater into Jonathan's car.

Hopper came back into the kitchen slightly out of breath and looked towards El. "Kid, its you and me."

"What about us?" Dustin asked

"You stay right here with Piper and Jonathan" He pointed towards Dustin.

Everyone rushed towards Eleven and gathered her in a group hug, quickly saying their goodbyes, before they left out the door. Piper felt her chest tighten again with anguish as her Uncle and sister left out the door. Eleven might not have been blood. But she was her little sister.


	9. Second Chances

**Chapter Nine**

**Second Chances**

"I hate this," Mike spoke from the couch. "I hate waiting. I hate that we're not helping."

"What do you expect us to do, kid?" Steve asked as he walked back and forth across the living room, his bat in hand. "Hopper told us to sit here and wait, so we're sitting and we're waiting."

Piper sighed softly and rested farther into the couch, propping her leg up since the throbbing seemed to be back. Her adrenaline now coming down and her body once again remembering the pain.

"We could head to the field, distract the demo-dog away from the gate and the lab. Make it easier for Hopper and El." Dustin suggested

"No!" Steve argued. "What part of sitting and waiting don't you get?"

"That's not a half bad idea though." Piper spoke up, catching Steve's attention.

"What!" He shouted looking towards her shocked. "You're on their side? We're supposed to be the adults here."

"Well the kids have a point. They are walking back into that lab filled with those things and that's just gonna slow them down to getting to the gate." Piper sat up. "I don't wanna lose my Uncle when I could've done something to help."

"No. No." Steve shook his head. "It's not happening."

Dustin let out a groan of frustration and plopped down onto the couch beside Piper. She chuckled slightly at his over reacting, before moving her leg back down onto the floor to make room.

"Why don't we clean up? Get that dead thing out of here?" Steve suggested.

"I'm sorry I'm commissioned out." Piper rose her hand and then pointed to her leg. "The pain had caught up with me finally."

Everyone got up and moved to grab a broom, moving around to clean up turned over furniture, and cleaning up the glass. Dustin and Mike continuing to talk about how they should go and help out Hopper and El.

"No! We're not doing this." Steve argued "We'll all die. Do we not remember the junk yard? Piper was almost eaten by those things."

"I came out of it pretty ok." She argued back, maneuvering herself off the couch and walking more towards the kitchen. "Mike you said that you found Hopper at some field?"

"Yeah," He nodded "Like Dustin said, we can go there and distract them. Draw them away from the lab. If we attack the underneath, like those army men did, they'd be called back to defend it. They wouldn't have a choice but the leave the lab."

"No! Piper, what the hell are you doing? We promised to keep them safe."

"And we will! But like I said, I'm not gonna let my Uncle die. Or Eleven."

"You're out numbered here man, just go along with it." Dustin spoke up from behind Piper.

"I said no!" Steve shouted

The rev of an engine caught everyone's attention, having them rush towards the window to see a blue Camero making it's way up the Byers drive way. Piper knew exactly whose car that was and she slowly backed away from the window.

"Fuck, that's my step-brother." Max spoke with fear in her voice, causing her to jump away from the window and begin to pace with worry "He's gonna kill me if he finds me here!"

"We gotta distract him him. Make it seem like you're not here." Dustin spoke.

"I-I got this." Steve spoke moving towards the door, but Piper grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the door before he walked out. "What?"

"Do you really think that's such a good idea? He fucking hates you." Piper spoke sternly. "I'll go."

"What? No!" Steve protested.

"Yeah, have Piper go. He likes her." Max spoke nodding her head.

Steve shot Piper a weird look before she shrugged her shoulders, "We're project partners." She spoke nonchalantly, before walking around Steve and heading out the door, a slight limp to her walk.

"Birthday girl?" Billy spoke as he stepped out of his car, looking towards the house to see her standing on the front porch. "What are you doing here?"

"Babysitting." She bite down on her lower lip as she tried to fight through the pain in her leg and walk down the steps towards him. "But I think I should be asking you, what you're doing here?"

"I'm looking for that little brat that's my step-sister" He folded his arms across his chest "You wouldn't happen to know where she is? Would you?"

"No. No I haven't seen her." Piper smiled towards him and took a step closer.

Her eyes scanned down over Billy's frame and frowned, remembering that Max said that he had a date tonight. Billy was surely dressed for a date. His shirt loose off his body and held together by the two bottom buttons of his shirt. When Piper stepped closer she could smell the cologne he was wearing. Billy smirked and looked down towards her, and licking his lower lip slightly. He brought his cigarette to his lips, taking a long drag, before looking over her shoulder. He dropped the cigarette to the floor and smashed it with his boot.

"Really?" Billy's smirk fell and he gave her a look she'd never seen before. Piper's back straightened slightly, "Then what the fuck is that? Huh?"

Billy pointed towards the house and Piper wiped around to see the kids duck down from the window into hiding. She cursed low under her breath and turned back towards Billy, moving quickly to block him from going into the house.

"Billy wait, she's only here hanging with the kids."

"I don't give a fuck, Piper." Billy spit her name, the venom in his voice making her step back. "That fucking brat is coming home with me whether she likes it or not."

Billy pushed past Piper, sending her to the ground, crying out in pain from the pain shooting up her leg. Piper could hear the loud bang of the door smacking against the interior wall of the house, before the screams started. It sounded like all hell broke lose. She bit down on her lower lip as she reaching down towards her leg, before working to get off her feet. Piper tried to rush up the stairs and towards the door. When she stumbled into the door of the Byers home to see Billy and Steve at each others throats. Billy straddled across Steve's waist and punching him over and over, no break in the repetition. Piper couldn't hide the shock and horror from her face as she watched him, this not being the Billy that she knew. This was a whole other side. A violent side.

"Billy!" She screamed louder "Stop it!"

Before Piper could pushed herself off the door frame towards the two boys, she watched in horror as Max walked across the living room and stuck a needle into Billy's neck, knowing it was filled with the sleeping dosage they'd been using on Will all night. Everyone stood back in shock as Billy dropped to the ground with a hard thud.

"Holy shit!" Dustin screamed

Max reached across the grabbed Steve's bat from the floor and stood over her step-brother, Piper worked quickly to grab the handle from her.

"Whoa. Ok. I think you did enough damage, Max." Piper looked down towards the girl and could see her shaking with anger. "You did it Max."

Max looked up towards her and slowly started to come down, loosening her hold on the bat as Piper took it from her. Piper knelt down beside Billy and pressed her fingers against his neck, sighing in relief when she felt a pulse.

"I'll stay here with him." Piper spoke as she dug around in his pocket for his keys and threw them towards Max. "You take Steve and go to the field."

Max caught the key and nodded her head, before the three boys worked to pick up Steve and carried him towards Billy's Camero.

"Max!" Piper screamed towards the teenage girl. "Don't kill them ok?"

Max nodded her head before racing out the door following Dustin, Lucas and Mike.

~x~

Piper sighed heavily as she moved and used the wet cloth across Billy's face, gently cleaning up the cuts from the few good hits that Steve landed.

"Fucking stupid boys," She muttered below her breath as she grabbed the rubbing alcohol cleaned up his split lip.

Billy let out a soft groan, slowly starting to wake up, his eyes opening and looking up towards Piper confused.

"Birthday girl?" He muttered and groaned even louder as he tried to move.

"Don't move so much, hot shot. You hit the ground pretty hard." She rolled her eyes and stood up from the couch.

"What the fuck happened?" Billy groaned as she walked back towards the couch and sat down beside him.

"You got your ass kicked by your step-sister." Piper spoke with a slight chuckle, as Billy slowly moved to sit up.

"What?" He looked towards her in disbelief.

"You came in here swinging and she dosed your ass with a sleeping drug. Fell to the ground like a ball of lead." Piper crossed her arms and stared towards him. "What the hell is your problem?"

Billy looked towards her confused, his mind not fully letting him remember what happened exactly. His mind was hazy from the drug. He looked over towards Piper and could see the anger, but also feel it nearly vibrating off her body.

"You could've killed Steve." She slapped his arm to get his attention, not caring if it hurt him. "What the fuck is your problem Billy!"

"I-I don't know...I-I was angry." He muttered and looked towards her. "Max left...my dad...he got so angry."

Piper looked at him confused. "Your dad?"

Billy swallowed hard and shook his head before trying to stand up from the couch. _I'd said too much. She can't know. She can't know_. Billy stumbled slightly as he stood from the couch, before falling again to his knees.

"Billy! Stop!" She shouted moving towards him and wrapping her arm around his body, helping him up and moving him back towards the couch. "Why are you so stubborn."

Billy mumbled slightly to himself as she moved him back towards the couch and laid him down, resting his head into her lap. He mumbled more to himself, his eyes barely open, as she ran her fingers through his hair. Piper moved his hair from his face, calmly caressing his head. She knew that the drug wasn't full out of his system and that he was falling back asleep. His fight to stay awake quickly failing.

"He...He hit me...told me I needed to find her." Billy mumbled.

"Who hit you? Steve? You talking about Steve?" Piper asked.

"No. No." Billy groaned "My dad."

Piper looked down towards him confused, not fully understanding what he was saying, but when she said his name once more to get his attention – she soon found out he'd fallen unconscious. Piper sat there with him and gently brushed his hair from his face, holding him as he slept. Piper gently moved to stand from the couch, moving his head from her lap, and onto a pillow. She grabbed a new wash cloth to finish cleaning his body. When she walked back into the living room, she knelt down beside him and wiped the dried blood that had dripped to his chest.

Piper sighed softly and moved his shirt to the side and froze at what she saw. It was a bruise and it wasn't fresh. It was at least a weak old and lined along his side. Piper moved quickly to unbutton his shirt and pushed it more to the side and saw another along his back. Piper was smart. She knew that these weren't from Steve. Theses weren't fresh. _My dad_. She gasped and pulled her hands away as she came quickly to the conclusion of what he was talking about. Forty-five minutes had gone by before he opened his eyes again with a jolt. Shooting forward and looking around in a panic.

"W-what happened?" He looked around, before his eyes settled on Piper who was looking at him apprehensively.

"We already went through this Hargrove." She whispered

"Where the fuck am I?" He asked looking towards her "Where the fuck is Max?"

"Oh my god. We went through this already!" She grabs his face making her concentrate on him "You got your ass kicked by Max. She left. She's doing something very important right now."

Billy growled slightly and shot up from the couch, ripping himself away from her hold and stomping out towards the front of the house. But he quickly stopped short when he noticed one vital thing was missing. His car.

"What the fuck!?" He screamed and whipped his head around to see Piper standing at the top of the steps on the porch. "Where the hell is my car?"

"With Max." She spoke matter of factually. "There is something bigger going on right now that is much more important than your car. I'm not gonna bother explaining it to you right now. But you have to trust me."

"And why the fuck should I trust you? Huh?" He glared down towards her. "You think cause we spent some time together that you know me? That you fucking mean something? You don't fucking know me."

Piper looked towards him in shock for a moment, before her her mood changed quickly to anger. She reached up and slapped Billy across the face, shocking both him and herself.

"I don't know who the _fuck_ you think you are, Billy Hargrove, but you will _not_ fucking talk to me like I'm one of your groupies." She spat towards him.

Billy looked down at her in shock, his hand still up against his cheek where she'd slapped him. Regret quickly filling his ocean blue eyes as he looked down towards her angry green ones. "P-Piper..."

"No! I told you...you can't fucking do that shit Billy. I see past the mask you put out for everyone else."

She glared towards him once more, before walking around him and heading down the driveway away from him. Away from the Byers' home. She reached up and wiped her tears from her cheeks.

~x~

It had been weeks since everything that had happened at the lab. After fighting with Billy, Piper walked back towards the cabin to see the Byers and Nancy huddled in the living room of the cabin. All the anger had dissipated from her body when she'd seen that Will was ok. But she wept true tears of happiness when Hopper and Eleven walked through the door. She didn't let go of either of them for over an hour. All the anxiety and fear leaving her body as she cried. Hopper sat on the couch with each of his girls beside him and arms wrapped tightly around him.

After everything had finally calmed down, Eleven was now finally able to no longer live in hiding. Piper could tell that being able to see Mike and the rest of the gang was making her life much happier for her. She stood in the bathroom doing Eleven's hair as she prepared for the winter dance that was going to with Mike and everyone else.

"Do I look pretty?" Eleven asked

"Of course, you're beautiful." Piper smiled towards Eleven through the mirror, putting the final touches on her hair. "You're gonna take Mike's breath away. Don't you worry."

El blushed "Thank you, Piper."

Piper turned her around and gave her a hug, before she left the bathroom and towards the living room where Hopper was waiting. She watched from the doorway as they left out the front door. She sighed heavily before moving to clean up the bathroom from the makeshift makeup station Piper had created. She had finally finished when she heard a soft knock on the front door of the cabin. She stood there confused for a moment, before exiting the bathroom and moving towards the door, once again another knock sounded. She reached forward and looked through the peep hole and cursed when she saw who was standing on the other side.

"Piper...I-I know you're in there I can see your feet at the door." Billy spoke from the other side of the door. "I saw Hopper leave so I also know that you're alone right now." She bit down on her lower lip and stayed in her spot "Piper...please...I'm begging you."

She closed her eyes and groaned, before she reached for the doorknob and pulled it open. She looked up towards Billy with a blank expression on her face, making it difficult for him to be able to get a read from her.

"You have ten seconds." Piper spoke.

"I guess that's fair." Billy sighed as she walked out on the porch and closed the door behind her. "I wanted to come and...apologize."

"Apologize?" Piper scuffed and shook her head "It's been weeks Hargrove. Would've thought you'd forgotten by now and didn't care."

"No, ya see Piper, that's the thing. It's the fucking opposite with you." He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair "With anyone else I couldn't give a fuck about how they feel about me. Specially from this small shitty town. But you...knowing that I fucking hurt you..." Piper frowned and could see that he was struggling with what to say. "I care about how you think of me. And I know I was a complete and total dick towards you and I am sorry."

Piper looked down towards her feet and fidgeted with the rings on her fingers. "How you were that night was unacceptable, Billy."

"I know...I know. I have anger issues, Piper." He paused "And I know that's not an excuse, but I've taken some time to think about things."

"And what is that exactly, Billy?"

Billy hesitated for a moment before he walked closer to Piper, gently wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She gasped slightly for a moment before he bent down and pressed his lips against hers. Piper froze against his body at first, and Billy thought for a second he'd made a mistake, but slowly Piper's lips moved against his. She moaned softly against his lips, her arms moving around his neck to pull him closer. The two pulled away from each other, panting softly between each other, but not pulling apart.

"I was a fucking idiot, Piper." Billy whispered against her lips. "And I'm so sorry."

She nodded her head and caressed his cheek softly, her eyes gazing up towards him. "I-I'm willing to give you another chance, Hargrove. Don't mess it up."

Billy smiled down towards her before bending down to kiss her again and pull her closer, pressing her against the front door of the cabin as his hands moved down her sides.

"My uncle won't be home for a while, and I was just gonna order some pizza for the night." Piper bit down on her lip "Wanna come inside? Watch a movie or something?"

"I'd love that, anything to keep me from going home." He kissed her forehead.

Piper reached down and grabbed his hand before pulling him inside and closing the door tightly closed. Billy looked around the cabin, before moving to take a seat at the couch. It wasn't much but this place felt more like home than his own. Piper walked towards the kitchen to use the phone to call for the pizza before joining Billy on the couch. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, as she grabbed the remote and searched through the few channels they had for a movie to watch.


	10. Three Weeks

**Chapter Ten**

**Three Weeks**

It had been a total of three weeks since the incident at the Hawkins Lab. Three weeks since the gate had been closed. Three weeks since Eleven, basically, saved the world. For the entire group it has felt like once again they were keeping a secret from the world. A deadly secret. Once everything had calmed down, Hopper had to make sure Piper understood how important it was that she told no one what happened. Told no one of what occurred, what she witnessed, or what happened to her. No longer were there a threat towards Eleven. She was finally free. To walk among the world as Jane Hopper. But that didn't mean that people weren't still listening. That there aren't threats still in the world.

That has meant for three weeks, Piper has been lying to Billy. It didn't take long for him to ask questions. The night that he came to the cabin to apologize was the night he began to ask her what happened the night of the Byers. Why her leg was wrapped up. He explained that Max had told him a version of the story, but he wanted to hear it from her. But little did Billy know they all went over the story. What they would tell friends or family if they for any reason asked questions. At the meeting, Piper was the one to bring up Billy.

"_We need a story for him. He woke up the Byers with his car gone and his sister on some mission." Piper sighed as she rubbed her forehead and looked down towards the yellow linoleum counter top at the Byers. She could feel everyone's eyes on her, before she looked up. "So what do I tell him?" She shot her eyes across the room towards Max. "What do we tell him?"_

_Hopper sighed heavily "You sure he's gonna ask questions?"_

"_Of course he is," Max piped in "Billy is a lot of things, but he's not stupid. He can easily put two and two together and figure it out. It's hard to hide anything from him."_

"_So we all gotta have the same story in case he walks around asking multiple people." Dustin concluded,cutting Max off. But she confirmed with a short nod of her head. _

_ Hopper sighed heavily and raised a calloused hand towards his face and rubbed it out of slight frustration. He stood there for a moment, in silence, thinking of something that would save all their asses._

"_Alright, here's what we're gonna do." Hopper stood in the middle of the room facing everyone standing in the kitchen._

So that is how the lie began. They all kept it pretty simple. Will was sick, he needed to get to the hospital so Max stole Billy's keys to then have Steve drive them. After hearing that did Billy's unexplained hatred for Steve deepen, yes. But it was enough to make the questions stop. But that didn't have Piper's nightmares stop. Almost every other night she wakes up in a cold sweat, the feeling of the demogorgon biting down into her legs still there. But in her dreams it get's her. It's like a outer body experience. She standing on the edge of the junk yard,watching herself run away, before it gets her and instead of biting down on her leg. They get her throat, slowly eating away at her.

Some nights Hopper is there to hold her as she cries. His arms wrapped around her tightly as he slowly rocks her. But most night Hopper is working so he's not there. And on those nights she tries so hard to muffle herself, so that El doesn't hear. Piper never wants El worrying over her. But even in her fear, she can feel El climb into bed beside her and cuddle into her back as she cries herself to sleep into her pillow. They don't speak about it. Another dark secret creeping in the shadows of their lives. Always there no matter how many times you tell yourself it's not.

* * *

It was another restless night. Piper stared at herself in the mirror, her dark circles beneath her eyes darker than usual. She swore her eyes were slowly sinking back into her skull. Her skin was pale and she could tell she lost more weight. That was another thing happening, she wasn't eating. She was able to cover that up well with sweaters and sweatpants. _Uncle Hop has enough to worry about_. After a quick shower and throwing on a fresh pair of clothes, Piper walked towards the small kitchen of the cabin and started on breakfast. The smell of the bacon was enough to make her stomach churn in disgust. Behind her the sound of a bedroom door could be heard, along with the soft footsteps towards the kitchen.

"Morning El," Piper spoke with a yawn as she flipped over another pancake, and smiled over her shoulder. "Sleep ok?"

"Cold." Eleven spoke and shivered for a dramatic add. "You?"

Piper sighed and placed the finished pancakes on the plates, before shrugging "Same ole', same ole'."

Piper didn't miss the frown on Eleven's face when she looked at her. She took a step forward and stood on her toes before pressing her finger into her cheek. Piper's back stiffened slightly and she looked down towards her.

"Pale." Eleven spoke softly.

"Thanks, kid" Piper chuckled with false humor before finishing off breakfast.

It wasn't long before Hopper walked out of his bedroom, fully dressed in his cop uniform, and took a seat at the table. Piper gave her Uncle a small smile as she moved to place a plate down in front of him, before taking the seat across the table.

"Everything smells good." Hopper smiled, and tried not to show the concern on his face.

He never thought the events of last month would hit his niece so hard, but it was starting to show and he didn't know what to do. His sister was always better at these things. _God I wish I could ask her for advice._ Hopper took a sip of his coffee and noticed how Piper always seemed to be caving in on herself more and more each and every day. She tried to hide it from himself and Eleven. But all in all she was terrible at it.

"Why don't you head to the Byers today? I'm sure Jonathan would love to see you." Hopper spoke breaking the slightly awkward silence. Piper looked up towards him and gave him a confused look. "That...Hargrove boy is still out of town for the holidays...why not get out of the house. Blow the stink off your body."

"What about El?"

"I'm going to Mikes." El spoke as she finished off her breakfast, quickly standing from the table to clean off her plate.

"Oh." Piper sat up straight, looking down towards her pushed around food, before looking back at her Uncle. "I-I guess I'll go see Jonathan."

Hopper smiled as he watched her stand from the table and clean up. Once all three of them were dressed they climbed into Hopper's truck and towards their destinations. Piper was dropped off first. She slowly walked up the long drive of the Byers home, and walked right inside to see Joyce on the couch watching tv. She jumped slightly to the sound of the front door opening.

"Sorry," Piper spoke sheepishly. She could see how haunted Joyce has been. Worse than her. She lost Bob and hasn't been the same.

"Oh, no sweetie. Just a little startle." Joyce smiled and brought her cigarette to her lips, before slowly blowing out the smoke. "Jonathan is in his room."

Piper nodded and took a few steps towards his room, before stopping and turning towards Joyce. "M-Mind if I have one of those?" Piper pointed to the carton of cigarette sitting on the coffee table.

Joyce hesitated for moment before grabbing it and holding it out to the girl. "Just don't tell your Uncle. He'd kill me."

Piper laughed "Like he'd have room to talk."

Piper grabbed her trusted lighter from her back pocket and lit the cigarette quickly as she walked down the hallway and towards Jonathan's room. She made sure the knock twice before entering his room. Opening the door to see him hunched over his desk fiddling with the new camera he'd gotten for Christmas. He stopped and looked towards the door as she closed the door behind her.

"Hey," He did a double take when he saw her.

Piper casually walked across the room, grabbed the worn down chair from the corner near the window, cracked the window and took a seat.

"Hey." She took another drag before flicking the ash out the window.

Jonathan paused to choose his words wisely. "No offense, Piper, but you look like shit."

She rolled her eyes "Thanks. Real way with words."

He sighed and turned his chair more towards her. "Well, I don't know how else to say it."

Piper crossed her legs and took another drag, missing the smoke invading her lungs, before blowing it out. She shook her head and tried to stop the tears. But before she could force any sort of effort, they were streaming down her cheeks.

"Hey, hey. Talk to me." Jonathan moved quickly to sit closer to his friend and wrap his arm around her shoulder in a comforting manner. "What's going on."

"How did you get through this?" Piper looked up towards him, her green eyes shinning with the unshed tears. "How were you able to function without feeling like you were losing your mind?"

Jonathan sighed and shook his head "I still haven't figured that out." He bit down on his lip and moved his arm down to grab her free hand. "But you have me. And that helps. Last year if I didn't have Will, my Mom, your Uncle or Nancy. I don't know how'd I'd be able to deal. But I knew that I had to talk. That keeping it in wasn't helping...it was making it worse."

Piper sniffled and whimpered softly "I-I feel like I'm losing my mind and it's slipping. I-I thought I could handle this. My Uncle told me everything, but to see it...to feel those things on me..." Piper dropped the cigarette out the window let out a groan of frustration "And I feel so stupid to even been feeling this way. Look at Will and Eleven! They aren't acting like this. El is worried about me, and it's me that should be looking out for her! I'm supposed to be her big sister."

"Piper. Stop it!" Jonathan grabbed her face to make her look towards him. He could not only feel her panic but he could see it. "We all have our moment. We cannot beat ourselves up for how we decide to process what's happened to us. We are here for you. I am here for you."

Piper shakily nodded her head before moving to wrap her arms around Jonathan and hold him close. He sighed softly and gently patted down her hair, calming her down slowly. After a moment she let out a sniffle before pulling away and wiping her eyes.

"Feel better?" Jonathan asked.

She nodded her head. "I am. Thank you." She paused for a moment "How are you? How's things with Nancy?"

Jonathan chuckled "How are thing's with Hargrove?"

Piper blushed slightly and looked away from his eyes. "I know you don't like him..."

"He's a dick, Piper." He cut in quickly "But I know that I can't tell you who you can, and cannot like. It's not my place"

"He's different with me. I can't explain it. It's like...he's gotta put this tough guy front up to protect himself. But I can see right through it. I can see the real him...ya know?"

Jonathan smirked and shook his head "No. But I can see that you do. I believe you."

"You never experienced that with Nancy? One look at her and she looks and acts like every other girl in this town. Too concerned to following societies plans for us all."

"But she's different."

"Exactly." Piper grabbed his shoulder and smiled towards him. "Because you see through her bullshit."

Jonathan chuckled and nodded his head, seeing more into what his friend was saying. But he was gonna keep a eye out for her. What happened three weeks ago sealed their friendship more. They have now gone through something that no other had. Which made Jonathan feel very protective of the girl in front of him. He knew that she could take care of herself. But it didn't hurt to have a second set of eyes.

"Thank you for being...you, Jonathan." Piper smiled towards him.

He gave her a weird look before laughing softly "Thanks?"

"No, not I mean it." She laughed and playfully slaps his arm playfully. "You're a really good friend."

Jonathan blushed slightly before moving to gently pat her shoulder.

* * *

Piper stepped out of Jonathan's car and smiled towards him before walking up towards the cabin. She knew that her Uncle still wasn't gonna be home and likely hood of El being home as well was slim. She quickly unlocked the front door before walking straight towards her bedroom. After having a talk with Jonathan she felt better. Piper walked over to her window and quickly cracked it before moving to grab her pack and lighting another cigarette. The agitation slowly creeping back into her veins. The moment she started to relax she was startled by a knock at the front door. She jumped from the sound of the noise, before cautiously walking towards the front door. Before walking towards the door she peeked through the small curtain and sighed in relief. When she opened the door she couldn't help but feel both happy and annoyed.

"You scared the living shit out of me." Piper spoke, not helping the smile that spread across her face.

Billy took a step forward and smiled, wrapping his arm around her waist and holding her tightly against his chest. Her body relaxed against his as her arms wrapped around his neck, the two of them slowly walking into the cabin. Billy kicked the door close with his foot before pulling back and gently caressing her face as he stared down towards her.

"Miss me, doll?" He spoke, Piper not helping to close her eyes for a moment before nodding her head.

"Did you miss me?"

"More than you know." Billy bent down and captured her lips in a gentle kiss before it began to slowly build to a deeper and ore intense kiss.

"Billy," Piper whimpered softly against his lips, her fingers moving through his blond hair and gripping it tightly. He growled slightly, before pulling away and smirking down towards her. "When did you get back? I thought your family was gonna be gone longer?"

Billy shook his head "The good ole' family vacation wasn't going so...good. I guess you could say." Billy sighed and gently brushed hair from her face.

That made Piper's stomach drop. Shed still had her suspicions about what was happening back home for Billy, and wasn't quite ready about asking him. She knew deep in her gut that something violent was happening and that last thing he wanted was for him to be in pain.

"Well I have the house to myself for the rest of the night, why don't we forget about all that family stuff and just focus on us?" Piper smiled up towards him.

She looked up towards him to see her was gazing down towards her. Piper could never get over how beautiful Billy's eyes were to her.

"What?" She spoke softly.

He once again shook his head. "Noting. You're just beautiful, doll."

Piper blushed deeper as he bent down to kiss her again.


	11. Baseball

**Chapter Eleven**

**Baseball Bat**

Piper sighed heavily as she brushed her hair back from her face as she fought with her locker door for what felt like the tenth time this morning. Once the rusty old door popped open she shoved her books inside. All around her students rushed quickly from classroom to classroom, talking loudly to one another as they caught up from winter break. Today has stared as normal. Piper woke up, had breakfast with Hopper and El, before Jonathan picked her up and she drove to school. What made this day any different from others was the moment she was out of the car and took no more than three steps from Jonathan's car, Billy was beside her. The moment his arm was wrapped around her she felt every eye on her. The glares and whispers started immediately. She tried to ignore it cause deep down Piper didn't care about what others thought of of her relationship with Billy. But she would also would be lying if the looks and whispers weren't annoying her. She held tightly to Billy's hand as they walked through, separating to go to their lockers.

"You seem to be the talk of the school." Piper looked up to see Steve Harrington leaning against the locker beside hers.

"Ugh," She groaned and rolled her eyes as she closed her locker as the warning bell for second period sounded. "I'm not exactly enjoying it."

"Well you had to know dating Hargrove was gonna bring some attention. He was single before break." Steve chuckled softly as they both

"I'm dating him cause I like him, not for the attention." Piper rolled her eyes

"I still don't get it, how can you deal with his ass?"

"As I've said to Jonathan, I know a different side to him. Billy isn't what you all think that he is."

Steve shook his head, not believing anything that she was saying, but saying anything further. Everyone quickly began to file into the classroom. Piper set her bag down beside her feet as she took a seat, looking up to see a few girls glaring towards her.

* * *

The lunch bell rang out and quickly every grabbed their bags and moved quickly into the hallways towards the lunchroom or outside. Piper walked to her locker and opened it quickly to take out her lunch, but before she could reach inside, she felt hands on her hips quickly spinning her. She jumped slightly and let out a small scream, before relaxing as she came face to face with Billy. He chuckled softly and pressed her against the lockers before bending down and kissing her lips softly.

"You gotta stop scaring me." Piper groaned and playfully slapped his chest. The smile on Billy's face didn't fade as he looked down towards her.

"Now why would I do that?" Billy chuckled and took a step back.

"Cause you're gonna give me a damn heart attack one day."

Piper rolled her eyes before reaching into her locker and grabbing her lunch. When she turned back around she could see down the hallway Carol and a few other girls glaring down towards her.

"C-can we go eat out on the bleachers?" She looked down slightly. "Have a little piece and quite?"

Piper wasn't scared of Carol, but she for sure wasn't liking the attention she was getting today. If anything it was becoming more and more annoying with every glance that was shot towards her. When Piper looked up towards Billy, she could see his eyes looking down where she glanced before looking back towards her.

"They giving you trouble?"

She shook her head "Except for the glares that every single girl seems to be sending towards me today? No. You apparently are a very desired man here at Hawkins High, Billy Hargrove."

He bit his lower lip and shook his head. "Only one I want to desire me doll is you."

Piper couldn't hide the smile that spread across her face and the redness that appeared on her cheeks. Her smile was quickly starting to become Billy's favorite thing. He reached down and grabbed her hand tightly before guiding her down the hall and towards the backdoor. There was a slight chill in the air as they walked out the back doors and towards the bleachers. The moment she sat down Piper reached into the paper bag and started to eat the small lunch she packed for herself that morning.

"You'd tell me if someone was giving you shit right?" Billy asked as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his lighter and cigarette. His tone was serious before he brought a cigarette to his lips and lit it quickly.

Piper sighed softly and took a bite out of sandwich before turning towards him more. "Of course, but I also can handle myself."

"I know that." Billy took a drag from his cigarette before blowing it to the side. "But I also would want to handle it my own way. Cause I don't want anyone messing with my girl."

"Billy I don't want you fighting people for me." She spoke softly.

"People will need to learn that it's not ok."

She looked up towards him to the change of his tone, before reaching over and grabbing his and kissing the back of it softly. She could feel his body relax from his touch before she released it.

"I think it's sweet you wanna protect me." Piper looked up towards him. "But please do not fight for me behalf. I don't like it when you fight."

Billy nodded his head and took a few more drags of his cigarette as they sat together on the bleachers. Once she finished eating, sharing a few with Billy, before they headed back into the school.

"You coming over tonight?" Piper asked as they walked to his locker. "Hopper's working late again and El might be going over to Mike's. But even if she isn't I don' think she'll leave her room much."

Billy opened his locker quickly before speaking. "I don't know yet. Depends on if my dad is gonna be home or not."

Her stomach clenched at the mention of his dad. "Well I hope you can, barely seen you since you came back from California."

Billy closed his locker and looked down towards her before nodding his head. "I know. But I will do what I can."

The bell rang out again and she sighed softly before nodding her head. Piper didn't want to come off as clingy. But she hated it when she knew Billy was home. She was seeing more and more evidence that something wasn't right but she didn't have the guts yet to ask him about it. Or if she should ask about.

* * *

Piper sat on her bed with her books laid out in front of her as she tried to complete her math homework. In the room next to hers she could hear El's TV softly through the walls. She reached up and rubbed her temples out of frustration as she tried for what felt like the one-hundredth time to figure out this problem in front of her. Math wasn't Piper's strong suit. She gently tossed her notebook to the side from her lap and stood form her bed. She quickly walked towards the kitchen to grab another soda and piece of pizza from the box that sat on the counter. It wasn't exactly hot any more but she was still hungry and also needed a break from her homework. She walked through the living room and down the hall to gently knock on El's bedroom door. When she popped her head inside she saw the girl curled up under her blankets and sleeping. She smiled slightly before walking over and turning off her TV. El moved slightly in her sleep before Piper reached and pulled the blanket around her more. She walked back out of the room and turned off the light before securely closing the door behind her.

Piper made sure to check the front door, and that it was locked, before walking back towards her room. She held to her soda as she walked down the hallway, enjoying the silence that seemed to fall upon the cabin. That was till she walked back into her bedroom and saw a figure pass by her bedroom window. Her instincts came quickly as she backed out of the room slowly and reached for the bat that Hopper kept in the hallway. She set her soda down and made her way towards the backdoor of the cabin and silently opened it. Her heart was racing and pounding in her chest as she slowly walked down the back steps and around to the side of the house. She could see the figure still creeping along, trying to look through windows, as she followed behind. Piper rose the bat in her hand and walked closer and before she swung, aiming for the persons head, she noticed the blonde hair.

"Hargrove!" She screamed towards him, feeling her body relax as he turned towards him. She opened her mouth to give him a reaming before she got a good look at his face. Her dropped the bat to the forest floor and cupped her mouth in horror. "Oh my god, Billy!"

Piper rushed towards him quickly and her eyes widened more and more as she got a fuller look at him. His lip was cut open with blood on the side of his mouth. She could see the bruise forming around his eye and the cut above his eyebrow. Piper reached for him gently and brushed back his hair and he whimpered softly.

"Billy...what the fuck happened?"

"C-Can we go inside...please." He whimpered and leaned against her slightly

Piper wrapped her arm around him and slowly led him into the house and right into the bathroom. In the light he looked so much worse and Piper fought with the need to cry for him. He slumped back against the toilet and let out a small whine. Piper moved and quickly find the first-aid kit to help clean him up.

"I-I didn't know where else to go." He spoke with his eyes still closed as she moved to dampen a cloth and gently wipe his face. "I-I didn't have anyone else."

"It's ok Billy. I've got you."

Piper made sure to keep a gentle hand as she cleaned his face and felt bad as she applied alcohol on his cuts. "Do you have any more, Billy?" She asked hoping the answer was no. But he nodded his head and gently moved to sit up and lift of his shirt.

Piper couldn't stop the gasp that left her lips as she saw the bruises all over his side and chest, most old, but there was also new. She wiped off the blood that dripped on his chest from his lip before cleaning up the small cut on his side.

"I think you should jump into the shower." She spoke softly as she opened the closet and brought down a towel for him. Billy didn't argue. He just slowly stood from his place as she turned on the shower and made sure the water was warm for him. "I-I'll be in my room and find some clean clothes for you. Ok?"

Billy didn't speak, just nodded his head before slowly stripping out of his dirty clothes. Piper walked out of the bathroom and closed the door tightly behind her as she walked into her bedroom.

* * *

Piper nervously paced back and forth in her room as she waited for Billy to get out of the shower. Her heart continued to race in her chest as she listened for the water to shut off and when it did, her heart then dropped into her stomach. Piper moved to sit down on her bed as Billy slowly walked into her room wearing the clean clothes that she found for him, which was a pair of Hopper's sweats and one of her over-sized sweatshirts. Billy closed her door tightly behind him before moving to sit down beside her on her bed. She didn't know what to say or if she should even say anything.

"Can we just go to bed?" Billy spoke as he moved to lay down on her bed and moving to be beside the wall.

"Yeah of course." She slipped off her slippers before cleaning off the rest of her books from her bed and laying down beside him.

Piper cuddled up close to Billy, but afraid to touch him in fear that she'd hurt him. They laid in silence together before moving to wrap his arm around her and rest his head on her chest. She moved quickly to hold him and kiss the top of his head. She knew that he needed comfort.

"You have to tell me what happened Billy."

"I will." He spoke softly "Not right now."

"Ok."

Her hand gently moved along his back as slowly he fell asleep.

_**AN: Sorry for the late update. Master's programs aren't a joke. I will try and update more often as my schedule starts to slow down a little. Thank you so much for all the review's letting me know what you like. Reading them motivates me!**_


	12. Boundaries

**Chapter Twelve**

**Boundaries**

Piper sighed softly and nuzzled her face into her pillow slightly as she slowly woke up the next morning. The sun peaking through the thin curtains of her bedroom and into her sleeping eyes. Her eyes blinked a few times before fully opening, the first thing she saw was Billy sleeping peacefully beside her. Her long lashes dusting across the top of his cheek and lip parted slightly the softest of breaths pushing past them. Piper just laid there for a moment stared at him. Seeing the bruising that was on his face had sadly worsened. But she saw past that and still saw how beautiful he was. She slowly moved her hand up from her side and scooted closer to him, to brush a blond curl from his forehead and brush it to the side. That soft touch seemed to rouse Billy, as he slowly began to wake and move. His body shifting more towards her before his blue eyes opened and connected with her green ones.

"Good morning," He spoke, his voice thick from the sleep still. Piper couldn't help but smile slightly as he moved closer to her and moved slowly onto his side. The smile faltered slightly when she noticed him wincing.

"Morning." She spoke before clearing her throat slightly. Piper looked down slightly before turning her eyes back up towards him. "How are you f-feeling?"

"Like fucking shit." He sighed softly

Piper paused for a moment before speaking. "I don't wanna push you Billy...but...I-I..."

Piper didn't know what to say or even how to say it. Feeling if she pushed Billy too far too quickly that he would run away. She knew that Billy wasn't one to speak about his feelings. But she couldn't help but want to help him. He was in pain in both the physical and mental states and she would _never_ have him face that alone.

"I don't wanna..." He closed his eyes "I shouldn't have come here last night."

Piper looked towards him confused. "Why"

"Cause you shouldn't have to see me like this." Billy whispered before closing his eyes.

Before Piper could say a word she could hear the noise of someone banging around in the kitchen. From how loud the bangs were she had a feeling it was her Uncle. Piper sat up slowly and pushed the blanket away from her body.

"I think that's my Uncle. Stay here." She moved to slip her feet into the slippers she always kept beside her bed.

"Trust me. I don't plan on moving, feel if your Uncle saw me in your bed right now he'd kill me." Billy chuckled. Piper looked over her shoulder towards him and laughed slightly and nodded her head.

"Yeah, your probably right. My Uncle is a kill first, ask questions last kind of guy."

Piper shrugged and fixed her hair into a neater pony tail before moving out of her room and into the kitchen. When she walked through the small arch that lead into the kitchen she saw her Uncle standing at the counter placing his coffee into a travel canister. She walked towards the fridge and grabbed a box of Eggo's before moving to place them in the toaster.

"Where's El?" Piper asks as she looks around the cabin noticing her segregate sister was missing.

"She left already for the Byer's house. Joyce is going to be watching her today." Hopper turned around and leaned against the counter to face his niece.

Hopper wasn't dumb. He knew that Billy was hiding away in Piper's room. When he came home late last night from his shift, he does what he always does. He walks down the hall and checks on the girls to make sure they are OK. Ninety percent of the time they are sleeping since he usually comes home after midnight. And when he opened Piper's door he saw shocked to see Billy sleeping next to her. Hopper's first reaction was anger and he was seconds from flicking on the light and screaming at the two teens sleeping before him. But he noticed the marks on Billy's face and soon his emotions went from angry to concerned.

"Oh," Piper spoke softly and looked across the kitchen and towards the clock on the wall to see that she'd over slept. It was no more than five minutes before Jonathan would usually be pulling up to take her school. "Oh fuck!"

Piper quickly moved in a panic to finish grabbing stuff for breakfast, before Hopper grabbed her shoulder to stop her.

"Whoa, now. Slow down!" Hopper spoke as he stared down at his niece. "I already talked to Jonathan, he's not picking you up today."

"Huh? What?" Piper looked up towards Hopper confused. "Why?"

Hopper sighed heavily and took a step back from Piper, reaching his hand up to rub his face before looking towards her.

"I know that Hargrove boy is in your room." Piper's eyes widened at her Uncles words. "And before you start panicking I'm not mad."

Piper's face went from panic to confusion. "What?"

"Now don't take my not yelling as to not being mad. Cause I sure as hell don't want you thinking that him sleeping in your bed and sneaking into this house is OK. Cause it's not." He spoke "But I'm also not going to go screaming and causing a mess. Joyce says I can't do that...that I have to set boundaries."

"O-Ok?" Piper was still confused as she listened to her Uncle.

"Now I am letting you stay home from school today, and today only. I called the school and said you were sick and weren't coming in. I am going to give you today, and today only, to figure out what exactly is going on." Hopper sighed "I saw that boys face and as the Sheriff it would be irresponsible of me to ignore that. But he's not gonna talk to me. I'm not stupid about that either."

"He hasn't told me anything." Piper spoke softly and started to fidget with her hands. "He just came here looking like that and hasn't said a word to me."

"Well once you know, if he's OK with it, come to me. I'm always gonna be here."

"I know Uncle Jim." Piper smiled towards him.

She took the few steps towards her Uncle and wrapped her arms around her broad frame. Her face only coming to his chest as she hugged him tightly, feeling her arms wrap around her. After a few moment Piper took a step back and looked up towards him.

"Think Joyce is talking you into becoming a bit of a softly, Uncle Jim." Piper smirked

"Don't think this means you get to take advantage of it. Cause if that boy is here again without my knowledge we're gonna have a problem." Hopper spoke with a sterner tone. "Especially with the door close and with him in your bed."

"OK, OK." Piper rose her hands up in defense "I promise that it won't happen it again."

"Good."

Hopper caressed the back of her head and kissed her forehead before grabbing his canister and walking out the door to his truck. Piper stood there for a moment in silence before being startled by the pop of the waffles in the toaster. She moved to finish making breakfast for herself and Billy, before plating everything and walking back to her bedroom. When she walked in she found Billy sitting on her bed and his head popped up when she walked into through the door.

"Your Uncle is pissed that I'm here?" Billy spoke.

"Heard all that huh?" She sighed and placed the plates on her desk before sitting down in the chair across from Billy. "He's not mad. Apparently he's on this new journey of "talking" and "setting boundaries", which I'm sure Joyce told him."

Billy nodded his head and reached forward for his plate before taking a few bites out of his waffle.

"Billy...h-he also saw the bruises. He must've come and checked on me during the night. That's how he knows your here and..."

"I'm not telling your Uncle what happened." Billy cut her off, his tone stern.

When Piper looked up towards him, his eyes were hard set and she felt like he was looking through her.

"Billy something happened to you. I just wanna help." She shrugged her shoulders "Can you blame me for that?"

"Why are you acting like you fucking care." Billy bit back towards her. Setting the plate down with some force causing the food to spill slightly onto the desk.

"Because I do." Now Piper was starting to get pissed.

Billy chuckled with false humor and shook his head, before standing from her bed. "That's fucking bullshit and we know it."

"Billy..."

"No! I don't wanna fucking hear it, Piper." Billy looked around her room for his clothes and things. "I don't need this bullshit where you're gonna try and save me and change me, I don't need that shit!"

Billy let his anger get the best of him, throwing this lighter across the room and into the wall. Piper jumped back slightly and looked towards him in shock. But watched as he seemed to cave in on himself. Billy reached up and fisted his blond hair tightly, bent over as he was breathing erratically. Piper knew that Billy would never hurt her. So she moved quickly across the room and wrapped her arms around him. Feeling his body shaking as he fought back to not break down and cry.

"Billy...I'm not trying to change you." Piper bit her lip to fight back her own tears as she watched her boyfriend break down. "But you can't expect to show up to my house, obviously hurting, and for me to not give a fuck about you. Because I do Billy! I fucking care!"

Piper caressed his face to make him look towards her, pushing his blonde hair away. She could tell Billy was having a slight panic attack, grabbed his hand and placed it over her chest and whispered softly in his ear. Getting him to focus on her breathing. Billy reached and wrapped his arms around her frame, pulling her closely against him.

"I can't tell you, Piper. I can't." Billy shook his head and took a deep breath before pulling back slightly. "I know what happens when I tell people. What he does and what he's able to do."

"Who? Your dad?" Piper questioned.

Billy looked down towards her and nodded his head before sighing softly.

"My Uncle can help. Billy he's the sheriff."

"Yeah but Neil has connections higher than your Uncle." Billy sighed "And he'd get anything against him dropped. There is no point, Piper. It's a losing game."

She looked towards Billy, who just looked defeated before her.

"I don't want you going back there."

"I don't have a choice." Billy reached up and caressed her cheek before bending down and kissing her lips softly. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me." She spoke quickly. "Need to come to terms that I care about you, Hargrove."

"And I still don't see why sometimes, beautiful." Billy sighed

Piper frowned slightly before carefully moving to wrap her arms around Billy and hold him. He rested his head on top of hers and hugged her back.

"Can we just stay here all day? Cuddle, watch movies, make order a pizza?" Piper spoke softly against his chest. "My Uncle already said I didn't have to go any where today."

"Yeah. But I can't stay too long. At least until Neil is gonna be home from work." Billy sighed "If I don't show he's gonna be even more pissed off."

Piper nodded head head before kissing Billy's bruised cheek, grabbing his hand and pulling him back towards the bed.


	13. My Girl

**Chapter Thirteen**

**My Girl**

A few days later Billy was walking around like nothing had happened. Like he didn't come to his girlfriend house in the middle of the night, his face covered in bruises and blood. When all his friends, Tommy and Carol specifically, asked where the bruises came from he just said he beat on some nerd that was pissing him off. Piper frowned as she stood beside him and he told this fabricated lie to cover up what was really happening. Billy could see her face drop with every word that left his lips, but he wasn't going to stop. No one could know the truth. Once the bell rang for the next class, Piper moved from under his arm and stared down the hall to her science class. She could hear Billy behind her say something to her friends, but he also didn't make a move to go after her. _Always gotta keep the image huh, Hargrove _– Piper thought to herself.

When she walked into the classroom her mood changed for the better as she spotted Steve sitting at their shared table desk. He smiled towards her as she moved to sit down, placing her books in front of her, before turning towards him.

"How are we doing, Harrington?" She sighed softly and brushed her brown curls from her face.

"I'm fine." He chuckled "Why do you ask."

She shrugged her shoulders "Had a hard couple of days. Thought maybe you would share some good news or something."

"Everything OK? Is it El? Hopper?"

Piper shook her head quickly "No. None of them. Personal stuff I guess you could say."

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Steve looked down towards her with concern.

Piper shook her head. "It's not about me."

Steve looked down towards her with even more concern "Is it Hargrove? He giving you trouble?"

Piper sighed and bit down on her lower lip as the teacher walked to the front of the class and started to teach. Steve kept his eyes on Piper and took her actions as a silent "yes". Steve started to let his mind wander as he thought of what could be wrong. Ever since what happened at the labs, Steve and Piper had become closer. And Steve couldn't help but feel protective for the girl that was sitting beside him.

After the class was finished Piper quickly gathered her things and walked out of the classroom, Steve walking beside her and both laughing over a movie. Billy stood waiting outside the classroom for Piper, but the moment he saw her standing and laughing with Harrington he saw red. He pushed past the few students in his way and quickly walked beside Piper, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and glaring towards Steve.

"What have we got here?" Billy chuckled, but Piper could tell that something wrong. "Trying to make moves on my girl, Harrington?"

"Billy..." Piper scolded

"We're just talking man." Steve shrugged his shoulders. "She not allowed to talk to her friends? Think you're just trying to keep a controlling leash on her, Hargrove."

"Steve, stop."

"What the fuck did you just say to me?" Billy moved away from Piper, pushing her gently behind him as he took a step towards Steve.

"I don't know think it's kind of weird that ever since you came around she hasn't been the same. Treat her like you treat everyone else?"

Piper's eyes widen and she shakes her head at Steve while standing behind Billy. "Steve!"

"Better watch your fucking mouth, Harrington."

"Why? Gonna smack me around? Huh?" Steve took a step towards Billy, towering over him in only the slightest. "You smack her around too, Hargrove?"

Piper's jaw dropped in shock but before she could even say anything, Billy had Steve down on the group from a single punch to the jaw. Steve might've had a few inches on Billy, but what he didn't have was Billy's anger. It controlled Billy and that was evident. Piper screamed for them both to stop as Billy straddled Steve and began to hit him over and over with every punch. It was like the Byer's house all over again. Piper acted quickly and threw down her backpack, before moving to grab Billy's bicep and pull him off Steve. It took a few times before he finally fell back onto the hallways floor on his back. He looked up towards Piper with crazed eyes, his fists still clenched and knuckles bloodied.

"What the fuck is wrong with you!" Piper screamed as she hovered over him.

From behind her she could hear a scuffle and looked over her shoulder to see Nancy and Jonathan helping Steve up off the floor. It seemed that every single student of Hawkins High School was in this small hallway and watching them. From down the hall she could hear what sounded like the principal or a teacher trying to make their way through the crowd to see what had happened. Piper moved away from Billy and grabbed her backpack and moved to follow after Jonathan, Steve and Nancy. She could hear Billy calling for her name, but she didn't look back. She was too angry. She was too furious that she just couldn't.

* * *

The four of them walked out towards the bleachers that sat right outside the gym back doors. They knew that if they would've gone to the nurse's office that would entail questions and possibly the principal. Steve was gently placed onto the bench and Nancy rummaged through her bag trying to find something to clean Steve up.

"Why the fuck would you provoke him like that Steve!" Piper screamed as she paced back in forth in front of them. "You know how he is! Why?"

"He was being an asshole! Are you seriously blaming me for this!?" Steve shouted back and pointed towards his face that was dripping slightly with blood from the cut on his upper brow. She was sure it was from one of Billy's rings.

"You're both to blame!" Piper stopped and placed her hands on her hips and glared down towards Steve as Nancy found a Kleenex to clean up his face. "You didn't have to talk back to him. You could've just left it "We were just talking" but no you had to fucking provoke and say some shit."

"He's an asshole, Piper!" Jonathan jumped in "I don't think it would've been left at that."

"Billy isn't an asshole to me! He treats me good. He's nice. He's fucking kind and he sure as hell doesn't put his hands on me! For you to fucking say that..." Piper huffed and defeatedly let her hands fall to her side.

"Piper you said you had a hard week and I just assumed." Steve spoke softly as he dabbed at his lower lip and looked up towards her. "I-I...I'm sorry."

"Billy has issues, issues that I can't talk about cause it's not my place. But that is why I have had a hard week. I have been trying to help him." Piper sighed softly "I get that you guys are my friends. I do. You care and I appreciate it so much. But I like Billy...a lot. How he is with me is so different than how he is with anyone else."

"Can you not see from how our side were we're a little worried?" Nancy spoke as she looked up towards Piper.

"I do." Piper frowned "But I think of everyone that is allowed to judge me, Nancy. You guys aren't the ones. Because you're my friends, and you should know me."

Piper shook her head and walked past them and headed back into the school. Everyone was back to their classes, the excitement of the fight died down and gone. She walked quickly towards her locker to set her backpack inside, before heading towards the office. She sadly had a feeling that Billy wasn't able to get away quickly. Piper walked down the hall and when she turned the corner she saw him sitting outside the principle's office on the bench. Piper slowly walked towards him, his eyes not looking towards her, before she took a seat down beside him. Billy kept his head down and only looked up when she grabbed his hand gently. Billy looked towards her and snatched his hand away.

"Don't you have someone else to go tend to?" He spat towards her.

She glared towards him. "Don't be like that. You both were being assholes. I just chose to yell at him first."

"I don't fucking care. You're _my_ girl, you don't go running off with someone else."

"First of all, I will do what I want. Second of all, Steve provoked you so I went and talked to him first. Lastly you need to stop using your fists every time someone days something you don't like. Especially my friends."

"I didn't like what he said." Billy rolled his eyes "I would _never_ touch you. Not like that."

Piper sighed and rested her head on his shoulder "I know you wouldn't. They are being judgmental assholes. But I don't care what they think. I know how you are. I see through your mask, Billy. I told you this."

Billy relaxed slightly and move to kiss her forehead softly before reaching down and grabbing her hands gently.

"Can I come over today? Don't wanna go home with Neil there." Billy spoke softly that she almost didn't hear him.

"Of course." Piper gently grabbed his hand and kissed the back of it. "I'll just come home with you instead of Jonathan dropping me off."

"Why don't I pick you up from school instead of Byers." Billy asked

Piper shrugged "I don't know. Never thought about it really. It's just always been Jonathan since I started. But if you want to, I would love that. Can spend a little more time with, Max."

Billy laughed and smirked down towards her. "Only Max huh?"

"Yeah I like her. I think she's funny." Piper looks to smile towards Billy.

"You're crazy, doll." Billy bent down and kissed her lips softly. "Wanna spend more time with you. As much as I can."

Piper laughed and reached up to caress his cheek softly. "You falling for me, Hargrove? People might start to think you actually like me." Piper meant to say it as a joke. But wasn't expecting the next thing he said.

"I've already fallen for you, Piper." He spoke with a serious tone.


	14. Making Amends

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Making Amends**

Piper paced back and forth in the small park not far from her house as she waited for her friends to arrive. It had been a couple days since Steve and Billy had fought at school and she had come to the conclusion they needed to apologize to each other. She didn't know if it was delusional to think that tricking Nancy, Jonathan, Steve and Billy here was a good idea – but she was going along with it any ways. She arrived a few minutes earlier than the others to make sure she was there first. The rev of the Camero made her stomach flip with nerves as she looked towards the parking lot, and waved slightly for him to see her. He got out of the car and slipped on his famous leather jacket before walking towards her. Piper nervously fidgeted with her hands as Billy walked towards her.

"Hey, beautiful." He smirked down towards her and gently grabbed her waist, pulling her close to him, before bending down to kiss her lips softly.

"H-Hi." Piper didn't know if her voice was shaky because she was nervous or because he'd left her breathless.

Billy moved around her and took a seat on the top of the picnic table behind her and sat down. "So tell me why we're meeting here?

"First you have to tell me that no matter what you're not gonna get mad at me." Piper sighed softly

Billy's face dropped slightly and his eyes hardened slightly. "What?"

The sound of cars pulling into the parking lot made the two teenagers move their attention from each other and over to the noise. Piper could feel Billy stiffen from beside her as Nancy, Jonathan and Steve get out of their cars and walk towards the couple.

"What the fuck are they doing here?" Billy asked, the anger visible in both his voice and his face.

"Please. Just...sit down." She pushed on his slightly exposed chest, pushing him back down onto the picnic table top.

It didn't take long for the three of them to join the couple, all looking at each other with confusion. "Everyone take a seat." Piper spoke once they were close enough.

Jonathan shot her a confused look before sitting at another picnic table adjacent to the one Billy was on, Steve and Nancy following his lead.

"OK." Piper took a deep breath and looked between the four of them. "First of all, thank you for coming."

"You didn't really give us a choice it sounded." Steve spoke, not even looking towards Piper and glaring towards Billy. His face still slightly swollen and bruised from the fight.

"No. You're right, I didn't. But I'm still saying thank you." Piper sighed and pushed her curls behind her ears and away from her face. "Now...u-umm...the reason I brought you here is cause I'm tired of the tension between my friends" she pointed to Jonathan, Nancy and Steve "and my boyfriend." She pointed towards Billy. "So we are going to use this time to fucking get over it."

"You really think that's gonna happen?" Jonathan spoke

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Billy muttered under this breath at the same time.

Piper's back straightened as they all began to talk at once, an argument forming, and making her change from being nervous to being anger. She saw red and walked to stand on the top of the picnic table and scream at all of them.

"Shut the fuck up!" She screamed, making all four of them stop and turn towards her, their eyes wide in shock. "Now I was going to be nice about this at first but it seems that you're all gonna act like fucking children so we're doing this the angry way! Now...Billy sit at the fucking table with them." Billy moved to open his mouth and protest, but quickly closed his mouth and moved with the death glare she shot towards him. He moved over and sat beside Jonathan.

Piper sighed and took a deep breath before stepping down from the table and standing at the head of the other with her arms across at her chest.

"Now...I want you all to get along. I'm tired of feeling like I have to be pulled between the four of you and it's driving me insane."

"What do you want us to do?" Jonathan spoke, looking towards his friend and feeling bad. He didn't have anything against Billy since he hadn't really given him a reason – apart from what he's done to Steve and his reputation. But he knew that Billy hadn't done anything to Piper and he should be supportive.

"Talk." Piper shrugged "I want you guys to talk and air this shit out. I'm not asking you to be best friends cause I'm not naive. I know that's not gonna happen. But I want it to be civil. I wanna be able to hang with my friends and have my boyfriend there." She moved her eyes to Billy. "If I have to hang and deal with your shitty friends. You can do the same for me."

"Hey..." Steve spoke with a slight offense.

"I'm not calling you shit, but you know Tommy and Carol."

Nancy and Steve nodded their head in agreeance. They all sat at the table and stared at each other, feeling like children being reprimanded by their mother.

"So I'm gonna go and sit in Billy's car. And you're going to talk." She reached her hand out to Billy for his keys, which he willingly gave. "And if you leave before this is resolved please remember that my Uncle is Jim Hooper and I have my ways."

She looked them all in the eye before turning and walking away from the table and towards Billy's car. Once Piper was inside she rolled down the window and crossed her arms at her chest watching the four of them. It took a while before finally Jonathan was the first to start talking.

* * *

Piper watched as Billy and the others stood from the table and started towards the parking lot. Piper moved quickly to get out of the car and walk around towards the front of it.

"So?" She looked between them. "We civil now?"

Jonathan shoved his hands into his pockets of his jacket and nodded his head "We agreed to be civil, and we're sorry for this shit we've caused."

Piper looked between them in suspicion, before nodding her head. She could tell from Jonathan's face that they weren't lying. "OK. Thank you."

Jonathan gently patted her shoulder before grabbing Nancy's hand and heading towards his car and leaving. She turned towards Steve and smiled as he walked away and did the same. Piper bit her lip and turned towards Billy to see him glaring towards her. But she knew it wasn't out of complete anger since his eyes weren't hard set.

"That was torture." He grumbled

"Oh you poor baby." She chuckled and walked over to wrap her arms around his shoulder. "Thank you for doing that. Means a lot to me."

Billy sighed "I normally wouldn't do that for anyone. But there's something about you Piper Canon." She blushed slightly and began to play with his blonde curls. "Now let's go and get something to eat."

* * *

Piper sighed softly as she rested her head on Billy's shoulder. The lights off in the cabin causing the TV to cast a soft glow over the teens as they cuddled on the couch. A few hours earlier El had left the group and headed to bed leaving them alone in the living room. Piper was making sure to keep her promise and not have Billy in her bedroom, as much as she didn't want to. His arm was wrapped tightly around her, pulling her against his side, as the movie played. Piper wasn't really hardcore paying attention to the movie since she'd watched it, for what feels like, thirty times with El.

Her hands lazily played under the slight opening of his chest and tracing shapes across his skin as her head was nuzzled slightly into the crook of his neck. Billy fidgeted slightly from her touch as it ventured lower, not out of being uncomfortable, but for another reason. He'd being lying if he said having Piper pressed against his wasn't doing something to him. He was a teenage boy. But he also was very aware of being in the living room of the home that his girlfriend shared with her Uncle that was also a cop.

"_Doll_," Billy whispered softly as he looked down and watched as she slowly unbuttoned the rest of his shirt.

"What?" She smirked and looked up towards him, her eyes fining false innocence. "I'm not doing anything bad."

"Your uncle could walk in here any moment." He whispered as she slowly moved to straddle his lap and stare down towards him.

Piper laughed softly "Is Billy Hargrove being the responsible one?"

"I am when your fucking Uncle is a cop with a gun."

Piper shook her head before bending down and kissing him softly at first before deepening the kiss. Billy quickly moved to grab her waist, moaning softly against her lips, before moving his hands up her body slowly. Billy couldn't help but love the feeling of her curves as his hands moved up more and more. Piper wasn't like these other girls nearly starving themselves to be a certain size. She was soft and curvy and Billy _fucking_ loved it.

Piper smiled against his lips as quickly the kiss began to deepen more and more, till Billy moved to lay her across the couch, settling between her legs. The movie was quickly forgotten as he moved to kiss along her neck, his hands under her shirt.

"Billy," She moaned softly, gripping his hair and pulling on it slightly causing him to moan against her neck. He nipped at it slightly causing her to let out a small scream that quickly turned into a giggle.

"You wanna play it rough, angel?" He smirked down towards her.

"Maybe." She laughed and reached up to caress his cheek softly.

Neither of the teen heard the truck pull up, the sound of a door closing, or the jingle of keys. Too lost in each other to even hear or notice the world around them. Just as Billy moved to kiss Piper again, Hopper walked into the home. When he saw that the lights were off, he'd assumed one of the girls has fallen asleep on the couch while watching TV again. But he wasn't expecting was to see his niece beneath Billy Hargrove, obviously making out with each other. Jim stood frozen in the door way, hand still on the light switch, and eyes glued to the scene in front of him. The moment the lights turned on, Piper and Billy pulled away from each other and looked towards the door to see a very angry Jim Hopper standing in the door way.

"Uncle Jim!" Piper shrieked in surprise, before turning her eyes towards Billy. The moment their heads turned towards each other they seemed to have snapped back to reality. He moved to button back up his top as she adjusted herself.

"Billy...think it would be wise if you...headed back home." Jim spoke is a eerily calm voice.

"Y-Yes sir." Billy nodded his head and shot a glance towards Piper, silently telling her sorry and goodbye, before grabbing his jacket. But before he could exit the cabin, Jim grabbed his arm and looked towards towards the boy.

"We will be having a discussion, don't think for a second you're getting out of this scot free." Hooper spoke as he looked down towards the boy. Billy stammered slightly before leaving out the door.

Piper sighed heavily and stood from the couch and turned towards her Uncle and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Uncle Jim..."

Hopper raised his hand to silence the girl. "I cannot deal with this right now. I am tired and don't have the energy." He sighed and ran his hand over his face. "But you are grounded this weekend and probably even longer, depends on how I feel in the morning."

"What!" Piper's jaw dropped as she looked towards her Uncle. "Uncle Jim!"

"No!" He raised his voice slightly "I don't wanna hear it. We will talk tomorrow morning"

Piper's jaw dropped as she watched her Uncle leave the living room and head towards her bedroom. Piper knew that she wasn't going to be able to talk herself out of this. She turned off the TV and cleaned the living room up a bit, before heading back to her room. Piper was prepared to deal with whatever her Uncle was going to throw her way, she was just hoping that he hadn't completely scared Billy away.

* * *

_AN: Hello everyone. I just wanna say that I hope you're all doing OK during these hard times. I hope that you are safe and that everyone you know and love is safe. I know during this time it might feel like it's never gonna end. But everything does come to a end and we just have to remember that. We have to work together and stay home! Please don't leave unless you absolutely need to! If you feel that the isolation is getting to you, trust me I know. I feel the same. Just talk to your friends, take a walk, maybe try something out that you haven't had time for before! I am making sure to not sit in my room too much and work out and go outside. We will get through this, but we gotta do it together! Well wishes to those that are reading this and I will try and update as much as I can. I still have school so that's coming first, but I will try at least a much as I can! Also we are going to be getting in Season 3 really soon! I have the ideas of what's gonna happen, but haven't decided on Billy's fate. I'm not gonna lie, haven't finished Season 3 cause the ending got ruined for me and I can't watch Billy die. I can't he's one of my faves but I know for this story I am going to have to. Please leave a review with your thoughts and maybe what you think is gonna happen for Piper and Billy in the events to come!_

_Much Love, _

_Charlie_


	15. Pancakes and Bacon

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Pancakes and Bacon**

Piper laid in her bed the next morning, staring up towards the ceiling, as she heard her Uncle and El moving around in the kitchen and dining area. She knew that last night was bad, to the brink of extreme, and she wasn't fully ready to face her Uncle. Not that he was gonna yell, scream and throw things to where she'd be afraid of him. No. Disappointing her Uncle was the lat thing she wanted to do. Since her parents death he has become like a father to her, and with El, they are the only family that she's got left. The smell of pancakes and bacon was tempting enough for Piper to slowly get out of bed eventually. If Jim Hopper cooked pancakes and bacon one of two things were gonna happen. He was gonna apologize, which Piper wasn't naive to think was gonna happen, or this was gonna soften the blow for when he disciplines you.

Piper slid her feet into her slippers that sat beside her bed, before slowly making her way out of her bedroom and into the dining area to join her family. El was sitting at the table eating away at the large stack of pancakes on her plate as the TV softly played in the background. When El noticed Piper walking into the room she looked up towards her and smiled.

"Morning," El spoke softly

"Morning, kid."

Piper lightly brushed back the brown curls that were slowly growing on El's head before bending down to kiss her forehead. Piper moved around the table to walk towards the kitchen and taking a few deep breaths to calm herself. Hopper stood in the kitchen slowly stirring his mug of coffee his eyes already on the door when she walked through. She stopped short the moment she saw him and instantly became nervous.

"Morning, Uncle Jim." Piper whispered softly

"Morning." She nervously began to play with her fingers.

Jim sighed softly before taking a sip of his coffee and setting it back down on the counter. "As you know, we need to talk about last night." She nodded her head. "Now when I said that, that boy wasn't allowed in your room that didn't mean that you could carry on into the living room. Especially with El only ten feet away in the other room."

"Why are you being so calm about this? I was expecting a lot more yelling." Piper looked towards him confused

"Not gonna lie I spoke to Joyce this morning and she advised that it would be wise if I didn't...yell." Jim sighed and ran his hand over his face. "Now we are going to be setting some ground rules. First and for most none of what happened last night is not gonna happen again." Piper nodded her head "Second we are going to have that boy over for dinner and we are gonna properly meet each other."

"Billy."

"What?"

"His name is Billy. You keep calling him "_that boy_"." Piper crossed her arms over her chest.

"Piper I think it would be wise for you _not_ to correct me right now." Jim cocked an eyebrow towards her, his voice becoming more stern. "You're walking on thin ice, young lady."

"Sorry." Piper bit her lip and nodded her head.

"Now you're gonna call him and invite him over, we are going to have dinner, he's gonna hear the ground rules of dating you and then we're gonna follow them. Do we understand?" Piper nodded her head. "Good. Now you are grounded till next weekend. You come home from school and do nothing else are we understood?"

"Yes, Uncle Jim." Piper bit her lip.

"Alright, glad we're able to have this talk. Now, let's ear breakfast before El eats them all."

* * *

The weekend passed slowly for Piper since she wasn't able to really leave the house. It was the first time in a long time that Piper was eager to head to class. She was hoping that the rest of this week wasn't going to go as painfully slow as the weekend did. Once Jonathan pulled up and parked in the school parking lot, they both quickly walked inside and to their respected lockers. The hallways quickly filled with teens as they talked animatedly to each other about what they had done during the weekend. It wasn't long after Piper had her locker open, before Billy was at her side. His arms wrapped around her waist, turning her towards him, before bending down and kissing her lips. Piper jumped first in shock before settling into his arms and kissing him back.

"Mmm, I missed you." Billy moaned softly against her lips.

"I missed you, too. I thought this weekend couldn't go any slower." She sighed softly. "My Uncle hogged the TV this entire weekend and I thought I was gonna lose my mind with his shows."

Billy chuckled "Sounds horrible."

"It was and you should feel sorry for me. Since you were the one that got me in trouble." Piper teased.

"Me? Doll, I am almost certain it was you that got us in trouble." Billy shook his head and laughed. "Speaking of that...how'd things go after I left."

"Not as terrible as I thought. I was expecting to wake up to yelling and screaming from my Uncle. But it seems he's on this new path of "setting boundaries" which I am going to have to thank Joyce Byer's for." She sighed softly and gently played with Billy's curls at the back of his neck. "But he wants you to come over for dinner some time this week. He wants to _"properly meet"_ you."

Billy's eyes widened slightly. "You're kidding me."

She shook her head. "Fraid not. Me, you, El and my Uncle. Dinner at 7pm tomorrow night cause I know that's his one night off this morning." Billy sighed softly suddenly extremely nervous. "It's gonna be fine, babe. El will be there to be a buffer."

"Alright, angel." He bends down and kisses her as the bell rings signaling the start of first period.

* * *

Piper sighed softly and closed her eyes and she laid against the windshield of Jonathan's car. The weather was starting to turn a little warmer with each passing day in Hawkins and that meant that summer was coming quickly. Piper couldn't wait because she was totally over the winter and the cold. Warmth would also make the memories of Hawkins lab even further from the groups mind. It would mean a new chapter since Piper, Nancy and the boys would be graduating soon and moving on with their lives. Piper hadn't put much thought to it. She knew that talks with Billy he wanted to run away from Hawkins as far and as fast as he could.

"You hear back from the paper yet about your summer internship?" Piper asked as she turned her head towards Jonathan who was still eating his lunch.

"Not yet. I'm hoping to hear something this week." He sighed.

"They'd be crazy not to accept you. Your photos are amazing." She smiled towards him.

"Thank you." He blushed slightly, not really great with taking compliments. "What about you? Have you decided what you're gonna do?"

She shrugged her shoulders "I'm not exactly jumping on the college bandwagon. Not that I have money to pay for it." Piper sighed "I was thinking...that new mall that's being built right outside of town. It's expecting to open this summer so maybe I'll get a job there."

"That's a good idea." Jonathan nodded his head. "I hear you with the college thing. I don't really have money for it either. I'm hoping the internship helps a little."

"You're going to do amazing, Jonathan. You have nothing to worry about."

Piper sat up and shrugged off her jacket, starting to get hot from the heat, before laying back down against the car.

"Billy wants to leave Hawkins and head back to the California." She spoke

Jonathan looked down towards her "Y-You gonna go with him?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "He hasn't asked me. But if he did I don't know what I would do. My family is here. My friends are here."

"Do you love him enough to go?" He asked.

Piper opened her mouth and then closed it again. Not really knowing how to answer that questions. Billy said that he was falling for her, but that hadn't spoken the three words to each other officially. Jonathan has rendered Piper speechless.

_AN: It's a small filler chapter but I hope to update again soon. Thank you so much for the reviews! I would love to know more of what you guys thing. I have had on person speak very passionately about Billy dying. I still haven't made up my mind on that whole thing I keep going back and forth. Stay safe & stay home!_


	16. Back Seat of the Car

_AN: Hello all, I know author note at the beginning. There is a reason. Now this is going to stay a "T" rated story. But towards the end of this chapter things do get a little more...mature, between Billy and Piper. Now things aren't fully described and all that, just enough to let you know what is going to happen. If you wanna skip that part you can. It's not vital. Please leave a review. Please let me know if I'm going a good job with the characters, would love to know. Billy is obviously not exactly like the show. Next chapter is going to fast forward to season three. I gotta finish season three so it might be a little while till the next update. Stay safe and happy reading._

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Back Seat of the Car**

Piper moved quickly around the table to triple check and make sure that everything was perfect. She didn't know why she was nervous but the moment she woke up this morning her stomach was filled with butterflies. School went like normal, but the butterflies stayed and with each passing moment she became more and more nervous. She wanted her Uncle to like Billy. At least tolerate him enough. Thanks to Jonathan she was able to stop at the store, get the supplies, and head home in time to make dinner.

"Everything is going to be ok." El spoke from the couch as she watched Piper pace.

"You don't know that. Unless seeing the future is a power you haven't told us about yet?" Piper sighed and ran her hand through her hair.

"No. Can't see future." El laughed and shook her head.

"Damn. That would've been helpful." Piper smiled towards her before heading back to the kitchen to check on dinner.

"Billy is a mouth-breather." El moved from the couch to the kitchen, leaning against the doorway of the kitchen.

"No he's not. He's been nice to you...hasn't he?"

El rolled her eyes "Yes. But not to Mike or anyone else."

"Well if he's ever mean to Mike or any of the other guys. Let me know." Piper smiled towards her "Billy's not that bad of guy he's just...going through somethings."

"Things?"

"Yes." Piper moved to take dinner out of the oven before setting it on the counter. "And no powers tonight. Remember that Billy doesn't know about them or anything about Hawkins lab."

El nodded her head before turning and walking back towards her room to get ready and changed out of her Pj's. Piper looked up towards the wall where the clock rested on the wall and saw that it was nearly 7 o'clock. After finishing off setting the table she walked into her bedroom and quickly changed. She didn't want it to be too dressed up, but Piper wanted to at least look nice. Just as she walked out of her bedroom. Hooper walked through the front door with a not so pleased look on his face.

"You don't look so happy." Piper spoke

"Rough day at work." He sighed and took off his sheriffs hat at set it on the coat rack right beside the day.

"Well dinner is done, and Billy is gonna be here any second." She smiled towards him nervously playing with her hands.

"Oh...right...that's tonight." Hopper moved his hand over his face before walking towards the kitchen, opening the fridge and grabbing a beer.

"Promise to be nice. Please. Give him a chance at least." Piper sighed

"You think I'm gonna be mean to him?" Hopper spoke before smirking slightly

Piper rolled her eyes and shook her head as the door as a knock sounded. She mouthed "_be nice_" towards her Uncle before she opened the door for Billy. She smiled towards him before stepping forward and hugging him. As her arms wrapped around him, she could feel his body relax. When she pulled back, Billy smirked towards her, his eyes slowly raking over her body.

"Wow." His eyes looked back towards her. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you." She blushed slightly before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

Piper reached down and grabbed his hand and lead him into the house while letting out a shaky breath.

"Billy, you know my Uncle Hopper." Piper pulled him towards her Uncle more, before Billy moved around her and held his hand out towards Jim. Piper stood behind her Uncle and gave him a stern look as he looked back and forth between her and Billy's hand.

"_Be nice_," She mouthed towards her Uncle before he sighed and grabbed Billy's hand in a firm hand shake.

"Nice to meet you, officially, Mr. Hopper." Billy cleared his throat slightly.

"That's Sheriff to you, boy." Jim didn't break the stern look on his face or his voice.

Piper sighed heavily and rolled her eyes before moving towards the kitchen to start serving dinner.

* * *

The awkward silence that fell upon the table was so tense that it could be sliced through with a knife. The only sound were forks against plates and glasses being set against the table. Piper sat beside Billy and kept shooting her eyes around the table, every one pretty much keeping their eyes on the table. The only person that didn't seem to be effected by the tension and awkwardness as El.

"So what are your plans for after high school, Billy." Hopper asked as he finished off his food and pushed his plate away slightly up the table.

"Uh..." Billy froze for a moment, looking from Piper and back towards Hopper. "Nothing too definite currently. Do plan on heading back to California."

"Have money for that?" Hopper asked quickly.

"Plan to work over the summer...already applied as a lifeguard at the pool."

Hopper cocked a eyebrow slightly. "No college plans?"

"Uh...no." Billy spoke awkwardly.

"None at all?" Hopper pressed again.

"Hopper..." Piper spoke as a warning. His eyes looked down towards her.

"What I just wanna know." Hopper shrugged "I don't think it's crime to know what the boy dating my niece has as a plan."

"Well I don't really have a plan, Uncle Jim." Piper shrugged "Some of us don't know what we're gonna do."

"Again, don't think it's a crime to ask the boy some questions."

El looked around the table awkwardly and could tell that Hooper was trying to keep things under control, but at the same time was failing. When her eyes looked at Piper she could see the tension in her body was building and building quickly. And poor Billy was stuck in the middle of it all not knowing what to do.

"Uh...once I got to California I was just gonna work and see where things took me." Billy shrugged "Get an apartment and just see where life takes me."

"Do you plan on taking my niece with you?"

Billy looked towards Piper. "W-We haven't talked about that..."

"Well do know that if you plan to do anything...you must ask me first." Hopper

Piper groaned and rolled her eyes before abruptly standing from the table and grabbing empty plates. "Hey, Hopp, wanna help me in the kitchen really quick?"

"No, I think I'm-"

"Now please." She interrupted before turning abruptly and walking through the swinging door into the kitchen.

Hopper sighed and stood from the table and walked through the door, his niece dropping plates into the sinks, before turning around, crossing her arms at her chest.

"I asked you to be nice, instead you're trying to turn this into an interrogation." Piper glared towards her Uncle.

"That's what I am supposed to to! I'm not supposed to make this easy for him." Jim rolled his eyes. "I need to make sure that he's good enough for my niece. Is that a crime?"

"It is, cause I don't need you to determine if Billy is good enough for me. That's my job." She pointed towards her chest. "I can decide whose good enough for me and I don't need you, Jonathan, Steve or anyone else to tell me otherwise."

"Piper, I'm going to look out for you either way. And the easier way is to just let me do it." Hopper leaned against the counter and looked down towards his niece.

"I appreciate that. But please...for the love of god be nice." She shook her head before moving around her Uncle and walking back into the dining room.

* * *

Piper watched from the hallway, nervously biting at her nails, as she watched her Uncle and Billy talk on the porch. Sadly she couldn't hear anything that they were saying but from body language it didn't seem too bad. At least that was what she was hoping.

"What are they doing?" El spoke coming up beside her.

Piper shrugged "I don't know. All I can hope is that Hop isn't threatening his life." Piper sighed "I don't understand why no one is giving him a chance."

"Because he's a mouth-breather"

Piper groaned and rolled her eyes. It was becoming extremely annoying how everyone in her life seemed to not like Billy. She moved to grab her jacket from her room quickly, before heading towards and out the door. When she pulled the door open quickly both men turned towards her with slightly shocked looks on their faces, before she stepped forward and grabbed Billy's hand.

"We're going, don't know when I'll be back." Piper spoke as she led Billy down the front steps and towards his car.

Hopper didn't have a chance to even say anything before the two of them got into the car and quickly sped away. He stood there for a moment with his mouth open in shock before he shook his head and turned to walk back into the cabin. When he closed the door, Hopper found El already on the couch with a movie on and ice cream sitting on her lap in a bowl.

"Where'd Piper go?"

"She left." Hopper sighed heavily and sat down onto the couch next El.

"He pass?" El looked up towards him as she ate her ice cream.

"For now."

Hopper reached across and grabbed the bowl from El's lap and took the ice cream from her lap. She let out a shout of protest as Hopper laughed and took a bite of the ice cream.

* * *

Billy parked the car the moment they arrived at the park that looked over the lake. The entire car ride was filled with nothing than the loud noise of the music that blasted through the speakers. Piper quickly unbuckled her seat belt once he parked and moved to climb into the back seat.

"Come here," Her voice soft and nearly a whisper.

He hesitated for a moment before getting out of the car and walking to get into the back. Piper rested her head on his shoulder and rested against his side.

"Sorry about tonight." She spoke and reached down to grasp his hand, playing with the rings on his fingers slightly.

"It wasn't as a bad as I thought it was going to be." Billy spoke looking down and watching her. "I thought the moment I walked through the door he was gonna be aiming a shot gun at me."

"I thought so too but he could still have been nicer. I know he's trying to be protective and be the parent...but..."

"He cares." Billy shrugged "That's not the worst thing."

Piper turned her eyes towards Billy and sat up from his shoulder to face him more.

"Has anything happened with your dad...since..." Piper bit her lip not knowing how to finish the sentence. But she could tell from Billy's body stiffening slightly and him pulling his hand from hers.

"I told you not to bring that up again, Piper." He spoke, his voice deep and guarded.

"I can't help but care, Billy." She turned to face towards the front of the car and fold her arms over her chest. "You won't let me help you. What else do you want me to do?"

"Nothing!" He snapped and yelled towards her. His blue eyes were wild and angry as they stared back towards her.

"Don't." Piper shook her head.

"What happens back at home doesn't concern you, Piper."

"Yes it does!" She shouted back towards him. "You know why? Cause you're my concern, Billy. I care for you, I love you! Why can't you just accept it."

Piper gasped and cupped her hand over her mouth and stared towards him in shock. She didn't mean to let it slip, especially didn't mean for it to come out during the brink of an argument. Billy's face held just as much shock as hers.

"Billy..." She spoke after a long pause, her hands falling away from her mouth and back down to her lap.

"Do you mean it." Billy spoke, his demeanor changed completely.

"What?"

"Do you mean it, Piper?" He asked again.

"Yes." She spoke without hesitation. "I-I do."

Billy moved the small distance between then and grabbed her face, pulling her to him and kissing him deeply. She moaned against his lips, wrapping her arms around him and holding him as tightly as she could. Quickly the couple weren't able to keep their hands from the other. Piper's fingers moved through Billy's hair and gripped at it tightly, before pulling away to catch her breath.

"Billy." Piper moaned softly and reached up to caress his cheek softly, her thumb moving against his swollen bottom lip.

"Doll you have no idea how bad I've wanted to hear you say those words." He smiled and laughed from happiness.

"Why didn't you say it first, silly." Piper shook her head.

"I thought telling you that I was falling for you was enough." He moved to pull her onto his waist to straddle him. His hands moving down to rest of her exposed thighs due to her dress riding up slightly.

"No." She shook her head and playfully slapped his chest. "You have to say the three words for it to count, Hargrove."

"Well," He smirks up towards her and caresses her face gently, "Piper Canon...I love you."

Piper didn't wanna be cheesy, but she also would be lying if she didn't feel the butterflies fully explode with her stomach and her heart race. Piper bent down and kissed his lips softly at first. Billy's hands slowly moving up her thighs more and more as the kiss deepened. Piper moved to shed off her jacket and throwing it into the front seat, before grabbing to do the same with Billy's. She moved her hand to quickly unbutton his shirt.

"Seeing you with this all the way buttoned was weird, made me miss how you usually wear it." Piper smirked

"I did wanna make a good impression," He smirked before moving to kiss along her neck right below her ear and along her jaw.

Piper moaned softly and ground her hips down against Billy's as he sucked gently on the skin along her neck, his arm moving to wrap around her waist to hold her. Piper's fingers fumbled with the buttons of his shirt before pushing it away and throwing it towards the front, once it was off, with the their jackets. Billy kept his hold on her waist, as he switched them to her laying beneath him. He settled between her legs and moved down along her neck towards her chest.

"We doing this angel?" Billy spoke against her skin, his blue eyes looking up towards her. Piper couldn't help but laugh.

"Is that how you're asking me?" She chuckled.

"I just wanna make sure before we move any further." His hand moved down back to her thigh and hocked it up along his waist and his fingers moved to tease the edge of her underwear slightly.

Piper blushed slightly and bit her lip. "Yeah."

"Yeah?" Billy smiled

"I want you, Billy."

Piper pulled him up towards her again, kissing him lips again as he moved to pull down the straps of her dress, slowly exposing her body. His head bent down as he slowly placed kisses along her chest. The little moans and whimpers leaving her lips turning him on more and more.

Billy had always wanted to do right with Piper since the beginning. Knowing that is reputation wasn't the best, not that he'd didn't do much to save it. But deep down Billy always knew that Piper was different. He wasn't sure if she was _"the one" _that everyone seemed to be obsessed to find. But he knew that she was special.

"Billy." Piper spoke softly as her hands moved along his shoulders and chest. "Please."

"Of course baby." He moved up and kissed her lips softly, before moving to quickly take off his jeans and boxers.

"Do you have a condom?" Piper asked sitting up on her elbows, looking down to watch him, blushing and biting her lip when she was able to get a better view of him. She knew that his body was amazing, but to see it in all it's glory was something different.

"Uh, yeah." He grabbed his jacket from the front and quickly fished around the pockets before finding one.

"Expecting something?" She cocked her brow towards him.

"I always wanna be prepared." He kissed her lips. "Are you...um..."

"A virgin?" Piper asked, Billy nodding his head. "No. But you can say it's been a long time. So...go slow...please."

Billy nodded his head and moved to slowly put on the condom, before moving back between her legs. He hovered over her, looking over his body and thanking who ever placed her in his life. Billy kissed her again, before slowly moving with her body.


	17. First Day of Summer

**Chapter Seventeen**

**First Day of Summer**

Piper nearly tripped over herself and her desk as the last bell of the school year rang out. She threw her backpack over her shoulder and walked towards her locker, working quickly to take all of her things out. When she slammed her locker shut she moved with the rest of the students out the double doors of Hawkins High School. Piper smiled and brushed her curls from her sight as her eyes scanned over the parking lot. When she spotted him leaning against his signature blue Camero, she walked quickly towards him. Dropping her bag down on the ground beside the car, she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly, his blue eyes shining down towards her before kissing her deeply.

"Ready to get out of here?" Billy smile down towards her, his hand gently moving down her back as he held her.

Piper bit her lip and nodded her head, before grabbing her things and getting into his car. Once the two were inside, Billy pulled quickly out of the Hawkins High School parking lot and headed straight towards the park that looked over the lake. Once the car was parked, Piper moved out of the car and climbed onto the hood of the car and moving to relax back against the windshield. Billy threw off his jean jacket before moving onto the hood beside Piper.

"Can't believe we're done." Piper sighed and closed her eyes rested back against the car "Don't have to go back to that hell hole ever again."

"We're still living in this shit town." Billy spoke "Speaking of I wanted to talk to you about something."

Piper opened her eyes and turned her head to face him. "What's up."

"Well...I wanted to talk to you about how I'm moving in a few months."

Piper frowned. "Yeah."

Billy moving back to California was something that he talked about constantly. Piper always hoped deep down that it was something that he was _talking_ about and not actually doing.

"Well, I-I want you to come with me." Billy spoke softly, adverting his gaze away from her and towards the calm lake in front of them.

"What" Piper spoke in shock. "You...what?"

"I want you to come with me." Billy shrugged and looked back down towards her. "I mean do you really wanna stay in Hawkins forever?"

Piper quickly sat up and fully turned towards Billy. "No. I-I don't know...I don't really have a plan."

"Then come with me. To California." Billy smile and reached over and gently grabbed her hand.

"C...Can I think about it?" Piper sighed "That's a big decision, Billy. Like really big."

Billy's demeanor changed quickly and Piper knew almost automatically that his walls were coming up. She shifted quickly and moved to caress his face to have him look towards her, his blue eyes slightly hardened.

"Hey, that's not a no." She rubbed her thumb against his cheek. "I just wanna think about it. You have a life back in California, I literally only have my Uncle Jim left when it comes to family. I-I don't know if I'm ready to lose that right now."

"We would have each other." Billy sighed

"I know. And I don't wanna lose you either." She smiled slightly and brushed back his hair from his face. "I just wanna think about it."

Billy nodded his head and reached to grab her hand and kiss the inside of her palm gently. "Ok baby. I need to save up anyways. I don't leave till the fall. Gotta start that lifeguard job tomorrow."

"Ugh don't remind me." Piper rolled her eyes moving her hands down from his face.

"You coming to the pool?"

"Why? To watch you parade around for the middle aged moms of Indiana?"

Billy laughed louder and shook his head, before wrapping his arm around Piper's shoulder and pulling her back to rest against the windshield. Piper knew about the rumors and though she didn't believe them, didn't mean she liked hearing the whispers. Or the looks they got from some of the older woman around town. She knew that Billy was attractive, anyone with eyes was able to see that, but she didn't like other's looking at what was hers.

"You coming over for movie night with El?" Piper asked after a moment of silence.

"Of course." Billy smiled as he gently played with her hair. "I like spending time with the kid."

"She likes you too."

Piper closed her eyes and sighed with content as she rested her head on Billy's shoulder.

* * *

Piper walked into her room and threw her backpack into her closet, thankful to not need that for a long time, before changing quickly out of her clothes and into a pair of gym shorts and a tank top. Down part of the cabin was that there wasn't any air conditioning so it got hot, quickly. When she walked back out into the living room she found El sitting on the couch with a bowl of ice cream.

"Ice cream, again?" Piper laughed and sat down beside El.

"It's so good." El smiled and laughed softly. "Movies tonight right?"

"Of course. Billy's joining if that's ok?"

El nodded her head. "It's cool. He's cool."

Piper laughed "He is cool. You and Mike still doing good?"

A few weeks ago Mike and El had decided to no longer be friends and instead be boyfriend and girlfriend. Piper thought that it was adorable even though her Uncle Jim hated it.

"Yeah. Hopper won't let us hang out without the door being open. Is that...normal?"

Piper shifted in her seat to face El more. "Hopper is protective. Especially over us cause we're his girls. He see's you as his daughter."

"Daughter?" El looks towards her confused.

"Yeah. That's someone very special." Piper smiled towards her "Like family."

"We're family?"

"Of course, kiddo. Me, you and Hopper."

El smiled and set her finished off her ice cream before moving to place it down on the coffee table. "Since you're done with school, are you going to be able more to hang out and stuff?"

"Well as long as I'm not working at the movie theater at the mall, I'm all yours. Billy is life-guarding at the pool so we can go and hang out there too."

Piper sighed softly and rested more into the couch and turned towards the TV and watching the movie that El had on. Hours passed before night fell and a pizza was ordered. Piper sat on the couch placed against Billy's chest as a movie played on the TV screen. El sitting down on the floor in front of the coffee table eating a slice of pizza.

"This movie is supposed to be scary?" El asked as she watched. A teen was running down the hallway screaming and running away from the killer. "Nothing about this is scary."

"Damn, what could be scarier?" Billy asked

Piper and El shared a knowing look, quickly flashes of what happened at Hawkins lab flashing through their mind. But both quickly looked away before Billy could notice.

"I just think someone's watched one too many movies." Piper shrugged before moving to grab another slice of pizza from the box on the coffee table.

* * *

A few weeks passed and Piper found herself standing behind a theater counter wearing a black and red stripped polo and her hair tucker under a red baseball cap. Plastering a fake smile on her face as she passed out bucket after bucket of popcorn. She thought working in a movie theater would be cool, but she quickly finding out that it's the opposite. Piper pushed back from the counter and smiled as she looked towards the clock, seeing that it was time for her break.

"Hey, if Sanders comes looking for me, I stepped out for my break. Ok?" Piper spoke to her co-worker, before stepping back and quickly taking the cap off from her head.

As she walked through the lobby of the theater she tucked her name tag into her back pocket and headed straight towards the food court if Star Court Mall. The loud sound of people talking, children yelling and the annoying music playing in the speakers over head welcomed Piper as she walked through the crowds of the mall. When she saw the bright sign of Scoops A'Hoy, Piper quickly walked inside and smiled towards the girl standing behind the counter with a unamused look on her face.

"Don't you look like a ray of sunshine." Piper chuckled as she walked towards Robin and leaned against the counter.

Robin rolled her eyes and laughed. "You'd have this look on your face too if you were shoveling scoops of ice cream to children all day."

"Ugh. I am doing that but with popcorn." Piper looks around "Where's Harrington?"

"In the back."

Piper nodded her head and walked around the counter and through the small double doors to head into the backroom. When she walked through she saw Steve sitting at the fold out table in the back.

"Canon! What are you doing here?" Steve asked as she took a seat across from her.

"On break and I'm bored. Thought you could entertain me with your presence." Piper reached across and took a few chips from the small Ziploc bag that sat on the table.

"What could I possibly entertain you with? I'm working a job just as boring as you are."

She groaned slightly "I thought working in a theater was gonna be fun. Or at least a little fun. But my boss Sanders just has be shoveling out popcorn and candy to children."

"We can switch and you shovel ice cream to children." Steve laughed "Come on it won't be that bad once we have enough money in our pockets to do fun stuff this summer."

Piper sighed "Yeah I guess you're right. At least Jonathan is having the better job between us. I swear if I have to hear him able the paper for one more second my head is gonna explode."

"He's having that much fun?" Steve asked finishing off his lunch.

"He goes into full geek mode if you even mention the paper. His eyes light up and he won't shut up about it. I love the kid as if he were my own brother, but its starting to get to be too much."

"What about Hargrove?"

Piper shot him a confused look. "Since when do you care about, Hargrove?"

Steve shrugged "I may not really like the guy, but he's apart of your life."

Piper smiled and blushed slightly "Hargrove is good. And thank you for asking, Steve. Means a lot that you support me."

Steve smiled towards her before standing to throw his garbage away. Not long after the sound of the bell on the front counter ringing consistently could be heard from the back.

"What the hell is that?" Piper asked, while Steve sighed annoyingly and shook his head.

"Dingus! Your children are here!" Robin shouted from the front counter.

Piper quickly stood up and followed behind Steve as he pushed the back door open, both peeking their heads out to see Mike, Dustin and the rest of the kids standing at the counter.

"Really guys?"

"What!?" Mike shrugged and lead the group through the double doors "Piper wasn't at the theater."

"I'm on break." Piper spoke "And you gotta stop doing this. One of us is gonna get caught and we're gonna lose our jobs."

"Yeah, yeah." Dusting waved them off non-nonchalantly as Steve opened the back hallway doors for them, allowing them through and straight towards the theater.

"A simple thank you would be nice!" Steve shouted after them as they excitedly ran towards the theater.

"Thank you!" Max shouted back.

Steve shook his head before closing the back door tightly behind him.

"I didn't know you were sneaking them in too." Piper folded her arms across her chest. "Thought the kids and I had something special."

"They obviously only come here when you're not around." Steve shrugged.

The two of them walked from the back door of Scoops Ahoy and out to the front to join Robin. But shortly after stepping into the front did the entire mall encase into darkness. Piper looked up and around in confusion.

"What the fuck?" Piper spoke, turning around to see Steve flipping the light switch over and over again.

"That's not gonna work, dingus." Robin rolled her eyes, and even in darkness could see the annoyed look on her face.

But before another work could be spoken about it, the lights turned back on and the mall returned back to life.

"Weird." Piper spoke before shrugging "Gotta get back to work before Sanders has my head."

* * *

Piper sighed heavily and ran her hand through her hair as she stepped out of her truck, thanks to her begging and pleading she was able to get a car of her own. Of course her Uncle was making her pay for the gas and anything else it was gonna need. But now she didn't need to depend on Jonathan, Billy or anyone else for rides. She used the side mirror and adjust her hair and fix the slight smudge in her gloss before walking towards the community building. She sighed happily to the feel of the warm sun against her skin. The sound of the pool grew louder and louder the closer she got, the sound of children screaming seeming to be the sound of summer.

Piper passed through the gate and walked towards the woman's locker room, setting her bag inside, before stripping off her tank top revealing the bright yellow bikini top beneath it. She bit her lower lip nervously, not fully feeling confident in the slightly revealing bathing suit. Piper looked around and noticed the slender girls walking around the locker room, and then looked down at herself. She grabbed her towel quickly and used it as a shield around her curvier body.

When she walked out to the pool, she held her towel and book tightly in her hands, as she walked around towards the lounge chairs. Piper couldn't help but scoff when she saw the line of moms at the edge of the pool. Their hair was teased, hair-sprayed and lips painted. _The damn Billy Hargrove fan club_. As she found a empty lounger she threw her towel across the not plastic and slowly sitting down and taking the sunglasses from the top of her head and to her eyes to shield away the sun.

Piper looked towards the wall and saw that it was time for Billy's shift. Just like clockwork the girl moved down from her post and headed towards the office building doors, where soon following out was none other than Billy. Piper couldn't help but bite down on her lower lip and watch as he moved around the pool. Did she blame the fan club for drooling over her boyfriend? No. She she like it. Hell no. Piper looked towards them and shook her head as she watched them adjust and pose as he walked past them. Billy said a quick comment, one Piper couldn't hear from where she sat, before he looked towards her and smirked. She rose her hand up slightly and smirked back as she waved towards her. Earning herself a few glares from the fan club.

After a few hours later Piper decided to take full advantage of the sun and slipped off her shorts before moving the recliner back. She reached down and grabbed the sunblock and slowly started to rub it against her skin.

"Need help with that?" a deep voice spoke from beside her. She looked up to see Billy standing over her, his hands placed on his hips.

"Don't you have a pool to watch?" Piper smirked

Billy shook his head and pointed towards the other lifeguard sitting at the post. "Break time. Do you want help or not?"

Piper stood up and handed the bottle to Billy, before turning around and brushing her hair away from her back.

"Won't your fan club be disappointed that you're not giving them attention?"

"Be nice." Billy gently rubbed the sunblock over her skin, before turning her around to face him. "And I obviously only have my eyes on one girl."

"Oh really?" Piper cocked her eyebrow "Who is this girl? Should I be worried?"

"Oh she's perfect." Billy slowly raked his eyes down her body slowly "Very tempting."

Piper stepped closer to Billy, reaching forward to gently grab the necklace hanging around his neck. "How tempting."She looked up towards him through her lashes.

"You're playing with fire, doll." Billy's voice dropped lower

"Mmm, maybe I want to."

Piper reached up on her toes before leaning up and kissing him deeply. Billy quickly reaching down and grabbed her waist to steady himself, before deepening the kiss more. Piper slowly pulled away before looking up towards him.

"You working tonight?" Billy asked with a slight pant in his voice. Piper quickly shook her head.

"Meet me at Motel 6 tonight?"

"I have to pick El up from Mike's and then I can head over." Piper released her hold on his necklace but slowly moved her hand over his chest.

"Good, cause I think we need a little alone time." Billy moved to her ear and whispered softly "Bring that set you bought from the mall last week. Think it's time I get to see it on ya. No?"

Piper nodded her head before smiling towards him. "Think you better get back to work."

"You gonna stay and torture me?" He cocked his head to the side.

Piper laughed and shrugged "For a little and then I gotta head out."

"Alright, doll."

Billy bent down and kissed her lips softly before moving back towards the post, letting out a whistle as he watched another kid run across the length of the pool.

_AN: Hope everyone is doing ok during the quarantine! Please leave a review with thoughts. I have most of season three planned out for Piper, Billy and the rest of the crew. Will update again soon!_


	18. Flayed

**Chapter Eighteen**

**Flayed**

Piper stood in front of her mirror and slightly teased her hair, adding the finishing touches, before stepping back and smiling. She quickly moved to the duffle she had sitting on top of her bed, looking through it quickly to double check and make sure she had everything that she would need. Piper made sure she was dressed in a way that wouldn't alarm her Uncle, wearing a black pleated skirt and her sneakers and a t-shirt. Piper quickly grabbed the bag and her keys before leaving her room and walking out into the living room.

"Ok, heading out." She spoke while walking towards the front door. "I'll be at Nancy's and will be home tomorrow morning before heading to work."

Piper was gone and out the door before Jim could even say a word, not that he would with her saying she was heading to the Wheeler's. She nearly skipped down the front steps of the cabin and walked towards her truck, quickly starting it to make her way towards the high way. She couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement going through her body the closer she got to the motel. It didn't take long for her to arrive and when she pulled up she could already see Billy's car parked outside one of the room. She parked the car, grabbed her bag and stepped out of her truck quickly. When she turned around she saw Billy leaning causally against the door frame of the motel room.

"Hey beautiful," Billy smiled towards her as she walked towards him. The moment Piper got closer Billy grabbed her waist and pulled her towards him.

"Hey handsome."

Piper kissed his lips softly before moving past him and setting her bag down on the chair that was close to the door. The room was dimly lit decorated in dark red and brown. Billy closed the door to the room before moving towards Piper and wrapping his arms around her, holding her from behind and causing her to giggle slightly.

"I have missed you" Billy whispered softly in her ear.

"Missed me? You say me earlier." Piper laughed softly and turned around in his arms.

"You know exactly what I mean." He smirked down towards her.

His hands moved up her back before gripping her waist and bending down to kiss her deeply. Piper smiled against Billy's lips as she pulled away from him.

"Wasn't there something that you wanted to see?" She bit her lip and smirked towards him.

"Don't tempt me." He spoke "You did enough of that at the pool today."

Billy moved to lay her across the bed, her hands feverishly moving to unbutton the shirt that he was wearing and pushing it off his shoulders. His hands moves down to grip her thigh before slowly moving up her leg. The moment she had his shirt off, she pushed on his shoulder to straddle his waist. Piper reached for her t-shirt and pulled it over her head, a curse passing through Billy lips. She smirked down towards him before leaning down to kiss him again, her hand caressing his cheek and hips grinding down against him.

* * *

Piper pushed the covers from her body before standing and grabbing her shirt from the floor, the soft noise of the shower sounding from the bathroom. She moved around the room, picking their clothes up off the floor. The door of the bathroom opened behind her and Billy walked into the room while drying his hair with a towel. Piper moved towards the bed and sat down as her eyes scanned over his body.

"Don't give me those eyes, doll." Billy chuckled before reaching into his bag and slipping on a pair of boxers.

"What eyes?" Piper asked, faking innocence.

Billy shook his head and laughed as he slipped on a pair of pants and moved towards the bed to sit down beside Piper. She leaned against him and rest her head on his shoulder.

"What's the plan for the rest of the night?" Piper spoke softly, gently grabbing his hand and began to play with the rings on his finger like she always did. Billy liked it, it was one of the small things she did that he found adorable.

"Thought we could just be together, spend some time together." He shrugged "Ever since we both started working we haven't really been spending time together a lot."

"I know." Piper sighed and sat up slightly and turning towards him more.

"That's all gonna change when we move to California." Billy smiled "Spending days at the beach, walking the pier."

Piper's back straightened and she let go of his hand, Billy's eyes quickly looking down towards her hand with confusion.

"Something I said?" He asked

"We talked about this Billy. I don't know what I'm going to be doing at the end of the summer, including me moving with you."

"What's there to think about?" He looked towards her confused "You wanna be together don't you?"

"Of course -"

"Then what is there to think about!" Billy spoke, his voice raising with each word and standing quickly from the bed to look down towards her.

"I still have my family, Billy. You may hate yours and wanna run away from them. But I don't."

"What the hell did you just say to me?" He looked down towards her, the anger clear all over his face and in his body language. Piper sat before him, crossing her arms at her chest.

"You know what I mean." She spoke with her voice hard and firm.

"No. Maybe you should tell me exactly what you mean, Piper."

Her back straightened more, Billy never called her by her first name. It was always some sweet nickname.

"I don't know what I'm going to do. I told you that I needed time to think. You wanna get away from your dad and Hawkins and go back to the life you had before you came here. I get that. But I can't run away from my problems like you do!" Piper spoke, her voice even and calm. Knowing that yelling wasn't gonna get any where. Billy didn't have that same thought.

"Such bullshit." He shook his head and reached for his shirt to put back on. "You know I thought that maybe my girlfriend would wanna come with me." He gathered his clothes and angrily threw them into the bag he brought with him. "That she would love me enough to wanna start a life together. But I guess I was wrong."

"Billy...don't-"

"Don't what!" He screamed, turning towards her his eyes wide and face turning red. "You wanna tell me that I'm wrong?"

Piper sighed and rubbed her hands over her face. "What do you want from me?"

"I can't fucking tell you that, Piper." Billy reached and grabbed his keys. She looked up towards him to the sound.

"Where are you going?"

"Leaving!"

Billy grabbed the handle of the door and threw it open and left out of the room quickly. Piper quickly looked around the room for her skirt to throw it on so she wasn't running out of the motel room nearly naked. But by the time she got to the door, the back lights of Billy's Camero were staring back at her as he drove out of the parking lot.

* * *

Billy drove angrily down the highway with music blasting through the speakers as the wind whipped quickly through the car with the windows rolled all the way down. He kept one hand on the wheel as he dug through his pockets and grabbed the pack of cigarettes and pulling out one and lighting it quickly. His foot sat heavy on the accelerator as his car sped down the highway.

"Fuck!" Billy screamed throwing the lighter into the passenger side seat.

His hands gripped tightly to the steering wheel as he drove with eyes straight ahead. As he drew closer to town, something was thrown towards the windshield of his car, causing him to swerve and lose control of his car. The Camero veered off the road and smashing straight into a pole. Billy's body moved forward with his head smashing into the steering wheel. Billy groaned slightly, a ring in his ear, before looking around in confusion.

"The hell?" He moaned softly as he got out of the car and looked around.

The windshield was smashed from the impact along with the front end of the car. Billy curses loudly and kicked the side of the car out of anger. A sound came from behind him and he quickly turned around to notice that he was outside an abandoned factory miles outside of town. The sound got louder and closer.

"Hello?" He called out. Billy looked around as he slowly made his way towards the building, where he thought the noise was coming from. "Hello?"

The noise came again, louder than before, causing Billy to jump slightly and quickly look to his left. There was a eerie calm and silence and something deep within his gut told him to get out of their. But before he could even make a move to head back towards his car, something grabbed him by the ankle and pulled – causing him to slam hard to the ground and knock the wind out of him. A loud scream sounded from him as the hold around his ankle tightening as he was pulled through the factory.

* * *

Piper sighed as she closed the door to the motel room behind her and walked towards her truck. She felt drained and tired from the fight that happened with Billy. But with him driving off she knew that it was gonna be pointless to drive around and track him down, knowing that Billy just drove around when he got mad. Piper pulled out of the parking lot and headed through the back roads and straight towards someone she knew that she could go to. It took a little longer to get there, but the moment she parked the truck, Piper hopped out of her truck and straight towards the front door. The lights were still on in the house, which she was thankful, meaning she wouldn't be waking anyone up. Piper knocked on the door quickly and took a step back, and waited on a few moment, before the door opened.

"Piper?" Steve asked with a confused look on his face as he stared towards the girl standing before him.

"H-Hey." She smiled sheepishly towards him. "Uh...can we talk?"

"Yeah. Yeah." He pushed his hair from his face. "We can talk in my room? Or out here?"

"Uh, your room is fine." She shrugged her shoulders before following behind Steve and heading towards his room.

Piper moved towards the chair sitting off the side in Steve's room and almost instantly dropping her head into her hands.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you or anything, Canon. But why did you come to my house at 10:30 at night?" Steve asked closing his bedroom door and then sitting at the end of his bed facing Piper.

She shrugged her shoulders and moved to sit up straighter. "I don't know. Billy and I got into a fight and I just...wanted to see a friend. Hopper thinks I'm at Nancy's so that would only cause him to question me if I came home."

Steve looked towards her confused. "What did you and Hargrove fight over?"

"He...uh...wants me to...move to California with him." She whispered softly

"And you don't want to?"

"I don't know what I want!" Piper spoke quickly before taking a deep breath. "He's so adamant that I come with him and I truly don't know what I wanna do." She paused and looked towards Steve. "What would you do?"

Steve shrugged "I don't know. Ya know I had my whole life practically planned out by my entire family. My dad thought I'd be heading off to some big college right now to be a doctor or some shit. Life doesn't go as planned and sometimes you gotta just...follow your gut."

"My gut isn't telling me what to do right now." Piper grossed her legs "I'm truly lost."

"What do you mean?"

"I-I never thought that I would be here ya know? I thought that I would kinda do the same thing your parents planned for you. Go to school, go to college, get a good job...but then my parents died and everything changed." Piper bit her lip and looked towards Steve. "I came here right after my entire world go turned upside down...then it changed even more with everything that happened a few months ago. So now I feel like I'm walking around life lost with no guide and no way out of this...confusion."

Steve sighed heavily and nodded his head. "I can understand where you're coming from. We went about our lives expecting one thing, then something came along and changed that, and now we're just...left here sorta."

Piper nodded her head "Exactly"

"Well why don't we do this." Steve stood up from where he was sitting "My parents are out on some date night bullshit, so no one is here, we can grab a few drinks and just hang out."

Piper looked up towards him and nodded her head, before standing and following him back down the stairs. She took a seat on the couch in the living room as Steve walked towards the kitchen. He came back a few seconds later with a beer in hand and handing one to Piper. She cracked it open quickly and took a long drink from it as she relaxed back into the couch.

* * *

The next morning Piper woke up early and got ready for work, planning on heading to the pool before going to Star Court. Her stomach was in knots most of the night. After leaving Steve's around midnight, she drove home and snuck back into the cabin to pass out in her own bed. Thankfully when she woke up in the morning neither Hopper or El had woken up, meaning she wouldn't be questioned on why she wasn't at the Wheeler's. Piper drove quickly towards the pool, parked and looked around the parking lot and hoping to find Billy's car. She couldn't find it any where which made her stomach twist up even more with not only nervousness but also worry.

Piper got out of the car and slipped her car keys into her back pocket as she walked through the front doors of the community building. It was buzzing with activity of running children and mothers loudly gossiping to each other, Piper having to slightly push through the early morning crowd to head towards the employee door. It was thankfully propped open with a wood wedge on the floor and she was able to peek her head in and look around. Spotting the same girl from yesterday looking over a clipboard while standing near the shelves. Her head wiped towards Piper the moment she filled the doorway.

"Heather right?" Piper asked, the girl nodded her head as she popped her gum. "Uh...you seen Billy?"

"Yeah, he just stormed into the locker room." She spoke her voice slightly monotone. "He looked like shit."

"T-Thanks."

Piper gave the girl a weird look before pushing off the door frame and turning to walk towards the employee locker room door. She opened it slowly and saw instantly saw that the lights were off. The second thing she noticed was the feeling she felt when she walked into the room. Piper's stomach sank slightly to the cold silence that surrounded her. She couldn't put her finger on it but for some reason she was scared.

"Billy?" Piper spoke out into the darkness of the locker room, her voice slightly shaky as she stepped further into the room. She didn't know if the fear she was feeling cause of their fight last night or the heavy feeling looming around her. "Billy?"

She heard a bang come from the back of the locker room where the showers were, freezing for a moment, before walking towards them. Her sneakers squeaking against the damp floor as she walked further and further into the locker room area.

"Billy, come on." Her voice became more firm.

When Piper turned the corner she could see Billy standing with his hands pressed against the shower walls, the shower head turned on and the water cascading down over his head. His back moved with each shallow breath he took.

"Billy?" He didn't answer. "I-I was hoping we could talk about last night?"

"Last night?" He spoke, Piper's face turning with confusion. His voice was off.

"Yeah." She took a tentative step towards him and started ringing with her fingers nervously. "Our fight? Did you forget?"

Billy's back straightened slightly and he reached to turn off the water. But not moving at all the face Piper. A hard scuff came from him, back stiff and his fists clenched tightly to his side before he turned around towards her. His eyes hard, dark and almost empty.

"B-Billy..." Piper stepped towards him, but he instantly stepped back away from her.

"Stay away from me, Piper." Billy spoke. The tone of his voice sending a chill down her spine.

He slowly walked towards her, his eyes never leaving hers, before pushing past her and walking out the way she came. Piper's eyes watered slightly as she stood there feeling a cold chill going down her spine.

AN: Thanks again for all the reviews! I saw some theories and of course, I have a ton of tricks up my sleeve when it comes to flayed Billy and Piper. I love reading your theories and thoughts on the story. Also half of nineteen is written and I will try and update for you soon!


	19. Bloody Whistle

**Chapter Eighteen**

**Bloody Whistle**

Piper leaned against the counter of the theater, this time the ticket booth instead of the concession, the conversation with Billy replaying in her mind over and over again. She was worried and knew something was off. _Maybe it's just our fight, maybe he's just that pissed off_? She sighed and shook her head. _No...maybe?_ Once again it replayed in her head as she plastered the fake smile on her face as another couple walked up towards her wanting tickets to a show. As the couple walked away, from behind them, Max and El appeared. Piper's eyes widened, mumbling a excuse to her co-worker, and walking around the counter heading towards the two teen-aged girls.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Piper spoke looking down towards them both.

"Needed some fun." El looked up towards her with a wide smile spread across her face. Piper looked towards Max who just smiled towards her and nodded her head.

"Ok...does Hopper know you're here?" Piper crossed her arms at her chest.

"No. Don't tell him."

"Mike lied to her, so I thought it would be cool to have a little day out...as a distraction." Max spoke up, causing Piper's eyes to to look towards the red head.

Piper's shoulders sagged slightly. "Alright. Just be home before curfew so that he won't ask questions on to where you are. And on top of all that...be safe." El nodded her head, but taking a fuller look at Piper and frowned slightly.

"You ok, Piper?" El asked

"Y-Yea...yeah kiddo I'm fine." Piper lied. "You two wanna see a movie? You chose, my treat."

The two girls nodded their head, quickly distracted away, before following Piper down the hall so she'd be able to sneak them into a movie of their choice. Once they were inside Piper headed back towards the front counter.

When it came time for her break she headed towards where she always went, Scoops A'Hoy. When she walked in she could see Robin glaring down a group of girls that were pestering her for samples. The moment she walked closer she could see Lucas's little sister at the front of the pack.

"Having fun?" Piper asked with a soft chuckle

"Oh the most." Robin rolled her eyes. "Looking for Harrington? He's in the back with some kid."

"Kid?"

Piper pushed past the small double doors before walking through towards the back. What she walked into wasn't what she was expecting. Dustin and Steven hunched over a small radio, books and note pads all over the small fold out table and a white board filled with unusual letters. Both boys shot their eyes towards the opening door looking like they had been caught doing something they weren't supposed to.

"Umm...what's going on back here?" Piper asked looking between the two.

"Nothing." They quickly spoke in unison with wide eyes.

"Or really? Nothing? Then why do you two look like you got caught doing something really bad." She folded her arms across her chest. "And anytime you two are together _nothing_ is simply going on."

Both boys looked towards each other, back at Piper, before bending closer to each other and talking in hurried whispers. The only words Piper being able to make out are '_Russian_ 'and '_top secret_'. Piper sighed heavily and rolled her eyes causing them both to look towards her.

"How do we know we can trust you?" Dustin asked with a slightly lisp to his words.

"Haven't I proved enough that I can keep a secret? Hello...the Lab? El? Must I keep going on?" Piper moved her hands to her hips.

"She's got a point." Steve whispered towards Dustin, but loud enough for Piper to hear.

She rolled her eyes and moved towards the table grabbing the other spare chair and sitting down across from them.

"Tell me what's going on right now before I come to the point where I have to beat it out of you." Piper looked between them both with a emotionless stare.

Almost immediately the two of them began to talk at once, and once again, Piper was only really able to understand that it was about something Russian, top secret and deals with a radio. Her eyes moved quickly between the two of them as they spoke trying to keep up before she rose her hands up to stop them both.

"One at a time...please." Piper spoke slowly after taking a deep breath.

"I intercepted a Russian radio call." Dustin spoke with a prideful smile on his face. "We're trying to crack the code so we'd be able to tell what they are saying and become hero's."

"Hero's?" Piper looked towards them confused "How is this gonna make you hero's?"

"Because it's Russians...need we say more?" Dustin laughed.

Piper looked towards them even more confused and looked down towards their notes, grabbing the one closest towards Steve, seeing they were trying to translate what they were hearing. Behind her the door opened and slammed against the wall causing them all to jump and turn towards it.

"Steve I really need you out here man!" Robin spoke her voice strained with frustration. "I can't take it out here, it's your turn."

"I'm...needed back here." He spoke quickly.

"I don't think you two dingus's are going to figure out anything that the Russians are saying since neither of you speak it.

"You told here!" Dustin screamed looking towards Steve quickly.

"You guys don't really speak quietly...you know that right?" Piper chuckled softly "Even I could hear you talking from back here when I walked into the shop."

Dustin bit his lip and slowly shrank down into his chair. Piper turned towards Robin. "Do you know Russian, since it's pretty obvious that we don't."

"Iigsnay on the privay." Robin smirked causing Dustin's eyes to widen in surprise and Piper to bit her lip to suppress her laughter.

"You know Russian!" Steve spoke in surprise.

"That pig Latin, moron." Robin spoke causing Piper to laugh loudly. Piper stood from her seat and walked towards the other girl, holding her hand up for a high-five which Robin was more than willing to give. "Harrington get your butt out there and we'll work on this back here."

Robin walked towards the table to take a seat with Piper and Dustin as Steve walked out towards the counter.

"I can't help for too long. My break is up in forty-five minutes." Piper spoke as she grabbed a Russian dictionary and grabbed a empty notebook.

"I think we can get a lot done in that time." Dustin spoke with excitement in his voice.

Piper left Scoops A'Hoy exactly thirty minutes later, giving her enough time to make it back to the theater, leaving Robin and Dustin with the one sentence they were able to crack. _They'd hopefully figure out the rest_, she thought to herself. When she stepped out she saw Max and El walking hand in hand together coming from the food court laughing. She couldn't help but feel a little happiness as she watched them walk off. But sadly that smile fell from her face the moment she walked out of the ice cream shop since the thought of Billy instantly came back to her mind. The sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach formed again as what happened in the locker room replayed in her mind over and over.

* * *

The rest of the night moved quickly and thankfully on Piper's end. Her body felt heavy and tired as she walked through the empty mall towards Scoops A'Hoy where she knew Robin, Steve and Dustin would be waiting. She ran her hand over her tired face as she walked through the empty shop and into the backroom.

"You guys figure it out?" Piper asked as she looked towards the three of them standing next to each other staring towards the white board. When Piper turned to look she saw a phrase written across it with Russian lettering across the top of it.

"The week is long. The silver cat feeds when blue meets yellow in the west." Piper read along. "What the hell does that mean?"

"We've been trying to figure that out." Steve sighed

"It sounds like the line in a puzzle from a messed up children's book." Piper spoke as Robin and Steve gathered their things to leave.

One by one they walked out of the ice cream shop as Steve grabbed the metal gate and pulled it down to secure the shop.

"Maybe it's wrong?" Steve asked as they started to walk through the mall.

"It's not wrong." Robin spoke, matter-a-factually

"I trust you got it right," Piper smiled towards the girl.

"Thank you, Piper. At least someone believes in me." Robin wrapped her arm around the girls shoulder as they walked side by side. "I knew there was a reason that I liked you."

Piper smiled towards her and wrapped her arm around Robin as Steve rolled his eyes at the two of them. "Well none of it makes sense. So much for being hero's."

"Maybe it's code for something?" Dustin suggested

"That makes sense." Piper nodded her head. "Like a secret spy code?"

"That's a total stretch." Steve muttered

"Is it really? Why would anyone speak obviously if they are trying to do something like send a missile?" Robin spoke as they walked "We are just going to have to finish off the rest of the translation to be able to fully figure it out."

As they walked Steve stopped beside a small carousel and stared down towards it. Piper looked over her shoulder towards him with confusion, and stopping, causing Robin to stop as well.

"You ok there Steve?" Piper spoke

Robin laughed and stepped back from Piper. "You need help getting on that buddy?"

"Quarters." Steve looked towards them causing them all to look at him with looks of confusion. "Quarters! I need quarters!"

Piper reached into her pockets and walked towards her friends, sifting through her pockets for the few spare quarters that she had. Piper placed them into his hand, Steve working quickly to feed them into the machine. Instantly it began to move and the annoying music began to play.

"I don't get it Steve," Piper spoke

"Just shut up and listen." He spoke hurriedly

The music continued to play, Robin and Piper looked towards each other in utter confusion, as Dustin gasped and looked up towards Steve. "Oh my god. The music!"

"The music?" Robin asked

Dustin reached into his backpack and pulled out the recording of the Russian radio transmission. The moment it hit play Piper was able to hear it, her jaw dropping, as she got what Dustin and Steve were trying to say.

"Oh my god. This isn't coming from Russia..." Piper slowly spoke as she figured it out.

"It's coming from Hawkins. It's coming from inside this mall." Steve finished her sentence.

* * *

Billy whimpered softly as his back slid down the wall inside the showers located in the locker room. His head felt like it was seconds from imploding with the pressure that was building inside of it. He reached up and gripped his dirty blonde curls tightly and let out a sound of pain. _Bring me the girl_. The voice inside his head spoke, a pain moving down his spine every time it appeared.

"No...please..." Billy whimpered as he moved to crawl out of the shower, suddenly his legs feeling weak.

A scream left his lips as he was flipped onto his back by an invisible force with a tightening feeling forming around his throat. He reached up to grab and stop whatever was chocking him, but felt nothing there. _No. Please._ Billy thought as he felt his body being taken over for what felt like the one hundredth time that day. _Don't fight it there is no point_. The voice spoke. It was deep and dark and made him shutter with fear.

Billy felt his legs move to have him stand from the wet floor and towards the sinks of the locker room. Suddenly he was no longer within the locker room. He was back on the highway surrounded by darkness. The sky lit with flickers of lightening as dark cloud rolled across the crimson sky. It was like Billy was in a nightmare version of Hawkins. But another thing, it felt weird for Billy, for he was looking back at himself, but it wasn't him. His eyes were darkened, hard and empty along with the face being void of any emotion or expression.

"Please what do you want?" Billy spoke with a tremor in his voice. "Please."

"To build." The darker form of Billy spoke, the voice distorted but loud enough where it felt like it was completely surrounding Billy. "Now bring me the girl."

"Who? Piper?" Billy asked. His stomach sank at the darker form of himself nodded his head. "No. Please."

"Bring her to me." The voice vibrated louder sending Billy to his knees, causing tears to well in his eyes and stream down his cheeks. But before Billy could say anymore his mind was encased in darkness.

* * *

Piper parked her car beside her Uncle's truck and slowly made her way up the stairs the heavy feeling of wanting to sink into her bed and crawl under the covers weighing on her mind more and more with each step. When she walked into the cabin Piper found her Uncle laid back in his Lazy Boy watching TV with a beer in hand. His head turned towards when she walked through the door, loud music coming from El's room again. She could tell by the slightly glassy look in his eyes that Hopper was a little intoxicated.

"Hey, you're home. How was work?" Hopper asked

"It was...uh...ok, I guess." Piper looked towards the shut bedroom door before looking back towards her Uncle. "I thought the door was supposed to be open when Mike was around?"

"Oh..." Hopper looked over his shoulder and then back towards his niece. "Mike isn't over...some girl..." He paused to think "Red hair."

"Max?" Piper asked, her uncle nodding his head.

Piper walked towards the bedroom and knocked twice on the door, hearing the girls giggle as she opened the door wide and smiled towards them.

"Piper!" El smiled and nearly jumped off her bed as she walked towards the older girl. "Max is spending the night for a...a..."

"Sleepover." Max smiled

"Right." El nodded her head. "Wanna join?"

"I'd love to. Just let me shower off the smell of popcorn from my hair and body and I'll be right in."

Piper smiled before pulling the door closed as she exit and walked towards her room, grabbing a change of clothes for after her shower, and walking towards the bathroom. She showered quickly and changed into her clothes before braiding her wet hair back from her face. Piper knew if she didn't – she'd be waking up to a fizz mess in the morning. When Piper walked back into El's room she saw the two girls huddled up on the bed with a piece of cardboard between them with names written on it.

"What's going on in here?" Piper moved to take a seat at the end of the bed.

"Well, we spied on Mike and the boys and decided to do the same to other people that we know. For some fun."

"You sure about that?" Piper looking over the board. "What if you find out something you don't like?"

"That's the fun in it." Max spoke excitedly

"It's just fun, Piper. Please." El looked towards her, her brown eyes pleading with her.

Piper sighed and nodded her head. "The minute you figure out something bad or gross, get out of there ok? Promise?"

El nodded her head "Promise. Why don't you spin first, Piper?"

Piper reached for the bottle and wasn't gonna lie, the thought of spying in on some people did sound like harmless fun. She gave the bottle a quick flick of her wrist causing it to spin quickly around, before landing on a name. _Billy_. Piper's stomach dropped.

"You sure?" Max whispered looking towards the older girl with a small look of worry in her eyes. "We can spin again."

"Uh, no. I wanna know." Piper nodded her head "Go ahead El."

El nodded her head and grabbed the blindfold as Max grabbed the radio and changed the channel till she got white noise. Piper and Max looked towards her with curiosity, knowing that El was the only being able to hear anything that was happening with in the radio static. The three girls sat in silence for a while, before El spoke.

"I found him." She spoke with a monotone.

"What is he doing?" Max asked, Piper's heart racing with anticipation.

"I-I don't know..." El spoke slowly "He's on the floor...talking to someone...there's a girl...s-she's screaming..."

Once again she fell silent, and something within her body language gave Piper that same feeling she felt back at the locker room when she was with Billy. Reaching across the bed she grabbed El's fisted hand and could feel the slight tremor.

"El?" Piper asked

El jumped slightly and ripped her hand out of Piper's grasp before reaching up and removing the blind fold over her eyes. Blood dripped down from her nose, something that always happened any time she used her powers, but what worried Piper was the scared look in her eyes. Tears welled up in her stare as she looked towards her.

"What happened? El?"

"I-I don't know." She whispered

"What do you mean you don't know?" Max asked "You said that you found him."

"Yeah...but...something..." El stuttered before relaxing and reaching up to wipe her eyes and then the blood from under her nose. "I don't know...something was off. He saw me."

* * *

The next morning Piper, Max and El woke up early and quickly headed out from the cabin. Piling into Piper's car and pulling out to head towards the Hargrove household. Last night none of them were able to make sense of what El described happened. Once again Piper was left with a mystery she wasn't able to figure out. But this one she was able to go to the source, or try to. Her fingers moved against the steering wheel as she drove, wanting nothing more for the nervous scared feeling in her stomach to go away.

"What do you think it could be?" Max asked

"You said there was a girl?" Piper spoke again after a moment of silence.

"Yeah. Well, more like I heard her." El spoke softly "And he was able to see me, Piper. I know that he was."

"You've said that Mike was too." Max tried to reason "And about the girl..." She looked towards Piper and frowned, not wanting to finish the sentence with what her mind was thinking. "My brother is a dirt bag."

"We fought." Piper moved her hand up towards her lips to nervously bite at her nail. She didn't have her cigarettes so the next 'best thing' as nail biting. "H-He did tell me to stay away from him." She whispered.

"Like he broke up with you?" Max questioned. Piper could only shrug cause even she didn't know the answer to that. That left Max confused knowing how deeply her step-brother felt about Piper.

Once again the car fell into silence as they drove and pulled up in front of the Hargrove house. Max and Piper looked towards the house in confusion. His car wasn't there.

"You sure you wanna do this, Piper?" Max asked

"I believe El when she says something wasn't right." Piper spoke as she turned off her car, and turning her attention towards the girls. "So it doesn't hurt to check it out."

El nodded her head and smiled towards Piper, before the three of them climbed out of the car and walked up towards the Hargrove house. Thankfully no one was home to question them about what they were about to do. They walked down the hall towards Billy's room, Piper grabbing the door handle and pushing inside and seeing nothing out of place. It was the same usual teenage boy mess room that it always was. The familiar smell of cigarette's and Billy's cologne filling Piper's senses and giving her a feeling of comfort.

"Why do I feel like we're about to find something bad in here?" Max spoke as she moved around her step-brothers room and started opening drawers looking for something.

Piper walked towards his nightstand and smiled when she saw the Polaroid of them sitting on the small table. She was sitting in his lap and kissing his cheek as he snapped the camera. His eyes were bright and shining with love. Quickly she pocketed the photo and slipped it into the back pocket of her jean shorts. From behind her she heard the door of the adjoining bathroom open, and looked over her shoulder to see El walk inside.

"Piper." El spoke with a shakiness in her voice causing her to move quickly towards the bathroom and step inside.

Towels were all over the floor, wet from the overflowing bathtub that sat nearly empty. Emptied bags of ice floating at the surface of the water.

"It's probably for his muscles. He works out a lot." Max shrugged her shoulders and looked towards Piper who stood frozen behind them. "Right Piper."

The girl didn't speak a word as El slowly looked towards the sink vanity, her eyes scanning over it quickly. El bent down quickly and opened the two doors beneath the sink cabinet and pulled out the trash bin. Inside the nearly empty bin was a bloody lifeguard whistle, El reaching down and slowly pulled it out and turning around to show them both.

"Fuck." Piper spoke before turning quickly and walking out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom. Moving to take a seat on the bed and dropping her head into her hands as she felt her heart rate go up and her breathing become more and more labored.

"Piper! Piper!" Max moved towards Piper and knelt down beside her and caressed her cheeks, making her look towards her. Piper's eyes were wide and face turning red.

"Oh god she's having a panic attack!"

AN: Please review with thoughts! Not gonna lie after I updated the last chapter I wrote this one and chapter twenty as well. So chapter twenty is just needing to be edited and then I'll update. What do you guys think it gonna happen? Will Piper get flayed? Will Billy die? Time will only tell...


	20. Red Door

**Chapter Twenty**

**Red Door**

Her body felt like she as floating the moment she was able to come down from her panic attack. Instantly her mind began to think of the worse case scenario when it came to Billy and why there was a bloody whistle in his bathroom - and the only she wanted to do was find the truth. Outside the crack on thunder sounded making the small house shake slightly, Piper looked out the window in Billy's room to see it start to pour with rain.

"Where can we find Billy?" El asked from beside Piper.

"The pool." Piper rubbed her eyes slightly. "Come on, if we go now we might be able to catch him before his break if he's there."

Piper looked around the room and grabbed the jacket off the back of Billy's chair, the heaviness of the coat weighting on her shoulders, as they walked out and back towards the truck. Once inside, Piper drove away quickly, the entire ride driven in silence. Each girl trying to come up with some sort of scenario of what could be going on. When Piper pulled up into the parking lot she watched as people ran out quickly, shielding themselves from the rain, as they ran towards their cars. Piper held tightly to the guard pouch that was found with the whistle and walked with determination into the community building. She stormed up towards the desk window, slamming it down on the counter causing the two teens behind the desk to look up towards her. El and Max soon joined up and stood beside her.

"Pools closed." The guy spoke, giving the three of them weird looks.

"I don't care about that." Piper held the small pouch up for them to see. "Can you tell me whose this is?"

"Uh...Heather's. Why?" the girl asked after popping her gum.

"Where is Heather?" Max asked ignoring her question.

"I don't know she bailed out on me today." the boy sat up straighter and set the magazine that was in his lap down onto the desk in front of him. "Aren't you Hargrove's girlfriend?"

Piper rolled her eyes and stepped away from the desk, only to turn around and see El standing across the hall and standing in front of a bulletin board. Piper slowly walked towards her and looked over her shoulder and towards the row of photographs tacked onto the board.

"Heather." Piper pointed towards the photo, the name written across the bottom, and grabbed it quickly and yanking it from the tack. "T-Think you can find her?"

El looked up towards Piper and nodded her head. Piper looked over her shoulder to see the two teens not paying attention before grabbing both Max and El's hand and pulling them towards the woman's locker room.

"Start turning on the showers towards cold." Piper instructed towards Max, as she turned the latch on the door locking it front the inside to make sure they didn't get interrupted.

Max moved quickly to Piper's instruction, as Piper moved towards the closet into the locker room. She grabbed a pair of goggles from the top shelf along with some thick black tape. She worked quickly to black out the front of the goggles to create a mask for El.

"Alright, El. No matter what tell me what you find." Piper looked up towards El. "I don't care what it is, you tell me."

El nodded her head as she took the mask from Piper and quickly placed it on before walking into the cold shower. She sat down on the floor of the shower and quickly became still. Piper stood against the tiled wall and watched her, once again her fingernail finding its way towards her mouth. Piper wanted nothing more than to have a cigarette at the moment. Max's nerves got the best of her and slowly she began to pace at the end of the locker room.

"What do you see, El?"

"A door." El answered "A red door. I-I'm going inside..."

Piper nodded even though she knew the girl couldn't see her. Once again El became stiff and her hands began to tighten into fists at the tops of her knees. Piper moved to kneel down in front of the girl, this time making sure to not touch her, but could see the tremor of El's bottom lip. Not knowing if it was from the cold of the shower or whatever she was seeing.

"El?" Piper whispered

El jumped back and removed the goggles quickly from her face and looked towards Piper with the same wide, scared and tearful eyes.

"El? What happened? What did you see?" Piper asked

El took in deep hard breaths before dropping her head into her hands.

"I-I don't know." She shook slightly. "I don't know."

* * *

Piper rested back in the seat of her car and felt like her mind was racing at a mile a minute with everything that as going on inside of her mind. From the fight with Billy, to the weird transmission with Steve and Dustin, and now this. The day wasn't even over and she felt like she was ready for bed and to sleep for ages.

"We're not gonna find, Billy, you guys." Piper spoke "We aren't gonna find him and be able to figure out what's going on with this Heather girl. At least not today."

"What if we went to the house?" Max asked looking up towards Piper. "Hawkins is a small town and El saw the number on the mail box along with a red door. Maybe we can just go and see if she's home?"

Piper's head rolled to the side and looked down towards the two girls in front of her.

"Last thing we're doing with this." Piper reached and started the car "And then after that we drop it ok? We can't keep going on this scavenger hunt."

El and Max nodded their heads before Piper reached to shift the car out of park and pull out of the pool parking lot. It a took a while of driving around, and for a moment Piper even thought maybe the red door wasn't even real. Till she turned down the street and right at the center of the block was a Tudor style house with a red door and a mail box that read the numbers _1438_.

"T-This is it." El whispered softly from beside Piper.

Piper stopped the car quickly and shifted it into park the rain pouring down on the car as they stared out towards the house.

"Are we going up there?" Max asked after they had sat there for a long moment.

"Y-yeah. Stay behind me ok?" Piper sighed "Technically I'm enabling this bad behavior."

Once again the girls got out of the truck and headed towards the house quickly, racing towards the porch and becoming drenched once again from the rain. El used her powers to unlock the door allowing Piper, with a shaky hand, to reach forward and slowly open the door of the home. All three surprised to see lights on inside when they walked in since they expected no one to be home just like back at the Hargrove home. Soft music was playing as they slowly walked through the house, framed photos of a smiling family welcoming them in the foyer of the home they stood in. Piper walked towards the large framed photo on the wall and instantly made out Heather with two people she assumed to be Heather's parents.

"This is her place." Piper whispered. Seconds later the sound of a woman laughing could be heard from farther into the house.

Piper stepped forward first, making sure to keep El and Max behind her at all times. Slowly they walked in, the music becoming louder along with the sound of laughter. When they turned the final corner, what was in front of them was not what she was expecting. Billy sitting at a table with the two adults from the photo that she was just looking at. The moment Piper's foot met the threshold their heads turned towards them and the laughter stopped.

"Piper?" Billy spoke.

"Billy...what?" Piper was left speechless and utterly confused.

"We didn't meant to barge in..." Max quickly began to cover up, looking up towards a confused Piper."We tried knocking but...we didn't think you heard with the storm and everything."

The man with the silver colored hair and stern look on his face looked the girls up and down before turning to Billy. "Who are these people dripping all over my floor?"

"Sorry," Billy chuckled "Janet, Tom this is my sister Maxine and my ex-girlfriend Piper"

It felt like a punch to the gut the moment the words left his lips. _Ex-girlfriend? _Billy stood from the table and walked around and towards them. Piper kept her eyes on him the entire time, the fear she's been feeling once again taking over her frame. _Something isn't right, _she thought to herself. That feeling was back. The fear, the ice cold feeling on the back of her neck.

"We wanted to make sure that you were ok. We hadn't heard from you all day." Piper spoke as she looked towards him with confusion.

"Why wouldn't everything be ok?" Billy cocked his head to the side.

"Where is she?" El spoke quickly stepping to stand beside Piper, glaring towards him.

Billy shifted his stance towards El. "Where is who?"

Suddenly a soft voice came from the left, causing Piper, Max and El's heads to shift and see none other than Heather walk into the room. A basket of biscuits resting in her arms as she smiled widely towards them.

"Oh, whose this?" Heather spoke

"Heather...meet my sister Maxine, and..."

"I'm Piper." Piper interrupted him quickly snapped and glared towards him. But he just smiled towards her in a way that was unsettling. It didn't quite meet his eyes.

But little did Piper know that Billy was screaming from the inside. Begging. Pleading for whoever had taken over his body to not touch her. He tried and fought as hard as he could to break through but nothing he did was strong enough. It was like he was watching this all unfold before his eyes with no control to stop it. He could see the hurt in her eyes as she stared towards him. The tears starting to well up in her emerald green eyes. Billy wanted nothing more than to reach to her, hold her and tell her it was all a lie. That he loved her.

"_Piper! Piper please!"_ He screamed. But to avail those words didn't read his lips.

The dark form stood in front of him and smirked as he watched the boy before him wither. "_She will be mine in due time, Billy. Don't fight it. It's bound to happen_."

"And I'm sorry I didn't quite catch your name." Billy's eyes shifted down towards El. Piper gave him a confused look once again.

"El." El even spoke her name with the clear confusion that they were all feeling. "My name is El."

Piper looked towards Max and gave her a look.

Billy stepped towards El slightly, Piper institutionally shooting her arm out to slightly press El behind her. "Now, _El_, you said that you were looking for someone?"

El began to stammer, before Piper quickly stepped in front of her blocking Billy's gaze. Slowly his eyes moved up Pipers body before locking with hers. Once again his eyes were devoid of any emotion. Blank. The soft ocean blue had now turned into a stormy gray.

"Your manager at the pool that you two didn't come into work today. So we just wanted to make sure that everything was ok. Especially when we didn't see you at home, Billy."

He nodded his head and scuffed slightly "Well, you see here, Heather wasn't feeling so..._hot_. So I just came over like a good friend to make sure she was ok. Needed to nurse her back to health." He looked towards Heather. "Aren't you feeling better honey?"

Piper snapped her head back towards Billy. "So sorry then. We must be going."

She quickly grabbed both of the girls hands and lead them out of the house. Her pace quickly with each step nearly making the girls behind her to run to keep up. The moment they got into the car, Piper locked the doors and quickly drove away.

"Woah! Piper slow down!" Max screamed "Rain storm is happening ya know."

Piper drove down the street more before quickly stopped and shifting it back into park. She felt the tears streaming down her face as she stared out towards the front windshield.

"Piper.?" El spoke softly.

Piper paused for a long moment before answering. "He didn't know your name."

"What?" El asked, causing Piper to look towards them both.

"El. He didn't know your name." Piper spoke firmly with the tears still streaming down her cheeks, a clap of lightening brightening up behind her. "Why all of a sudden does Billy not know your name?"


	21. Darkness

**Chapter Twenty-One**

**Darkness**

Piper drove away from the curb, everyone sitting in silence and thinking over what Piper said. _Billy didn't know El's name_. Which would be hard to believe since he'd spent night at the cabin watching movies with the girl. Piper's fingers wrapped around the leather of the steering wheel till her knuckles began to ache from it. The fear that was creeping up the back of her neck the last couple of days began to sink it's teeth it making her stomach fill with dread. Something was wrong, very wrong, and she didn't know the first thing about stopping it. Minutes later she pulled up in front of the cabin and slammed her door with frustration before walking inside, El and Max following behind her.

El walked around Piper and straight towards her bedroom, with Max, closing the door behind her. Both of the girls were exhausted and so was Piper, she wanted to crawl into her bed, pull the covers over her head, and forget the day. She walked into her bedroom and closed the door before quickly stripping out of her wet clothes and throwing them into the hamper beside her closet door. She went to step towards the bathroom, towel wrapped around her frame, but felt something underneath her feet. Taking a small step back, Piper saw the photo she'd taken from Billy's bedroom lying on the floor. Tears welled up in her eyes almost instantly as she bent down and picked it up.

"Oh, Billy." She whimpered softly.

Piper stared down at the photo with tears streaming down her face, before she wasn't able to hold it in any more. Her knees buckled slightly beneath her and she collapsed to the floor in a fit of tears. She set the photo down beside her and reached up to fist her hair tightly. Quickly Piper moved her hand down to her mouth to muffle her cries to make sure that neither El or Max heard her. But it was pointless, as El slowly opened the bedroom door and walked towards Piper. She sat down beside her and wrapped her arms around Piper's shaking frame.

"It's ok Piper." El whispered softly "We're going to figure it out."

"It doesn't make sense." Piper whimpered before pulling away, to reach up and wipe away the rest of the tears. "And breaking down right now it not cool."

"It's normal...I-I think." El sighed softly. "Max is gonna spend the night. If that's ok?"

Piper nodded her head "Probably best...seeing as we don't know what's going on."

El nodded her head and smiled towards her sister, before reaching up and wiping the final tear from her sister's face. Sister, a word that El only recently learned and fully saw Piper as. In the almost year that she has known Piper, she has never felt more love and protection from. Besides from Hopper of course, but when it came to Piper, there was something different. El didn't fully understand it, but she knew that no matter what – she could depend on Piper.

"Let's get some rest." Piper sighed softly. "I'm gonna jump into the shower and head to bed."

El nodded her head. "Ok, we're gonna head to bed too."

Piper reached to caress the back of El's head before kissing her forehead and standing up from the ground, holding tightly to the towel around her waist, before going into the bathroom. When she stepped out the phone began to ring, when she picked up and answered, Joyce on the other line. Hopper would be staying with her for the night. Piper didn't ask questions, since she was already handling enough already and didn't wanna add more.

* * *

Piper didn't get much sleep, if any really, the next morning her body felt heavy. Her eyes felt dry from all the crying. And she almost didn't wanna see her face in the mirror afraid of what the lack of sleep would entail. She quickly brushed her hair back into a ponytail and slipped on another pair of jean shorts, sneakers and Detroit Tiger's tshirt she'd taken from her mom's closet before moving. Her hand moved against the fabric, fond memories coming back, before she slipped it on. When Piper walked past her desk she saw the photo sitting there staring back up at her. She quickly grabbed it and slipped it into the back pocket of her short before walking out of her room. The cabin was still quiet so Piper quickly thought the two girls were still sleeping. Not long after making some coffee and heating up some Eggo's, the sound of a voice came from the living room. Not just any voice._ Lucas_. Piper stood there for a moment, a look of confusion on her face, as she waited to hear it again. _Am I that tired where I'm hallucinating, _she thought to herself. But her silent questions was answered when once again she heard it.

"Code Red. I repeat. We have a code red." Lucas's voice sounded from the living room.

Setting her coffee down on the kitchen counter, Piper walked out of the kitchen and straight into the living room, seeing the walkie talkie sitting on the coffee table. Lucas called out once more as she grabbed it off the table and clicked the button to answer.

"Lucas, what are you doing calling this early in the morning?" Piper spoke

"Piper?" There was a pause "Where is El? We tried paging Max but she's not answering."

"Both of them are here at the cabin. What does Code Red mean?"

Just as Piper replied back, Max and El walked into the living room. Their hair a mess. _At least someone possibly got a good night's rest_, Piper thought.

"What is with all the noise?" Max spoke rubbing her eyes.

"Something bad happened last night. Really bad." Mike replied back to Piper through the Walkie. "Our lives might be at stake."

"Mike? What are you talking about?" Piper spoke "We'll meet you at your place. I don't have time for this code speak, I don't understand it."

Piper clicked the Walkie off before sitting down on the couch and dropping her head into her hands. El walked around and sat down on the couch beside her.

"You get any sleep?" El spoke softly, Piper only replying with shaking her head. "Do you work at all today?"

"Uh...no. Not till tomorrow morning." Piper sighed softly and sat up straighter on the couch. "What do you think the kids are talking about?"

Max shrugged her shoulders "Who knows with them. Life threatening could mean they ran out of Doritos and are bored."

Piper scoffed "Why doesn't that sound shocking. Well, if it's not that dramatic, I might head up to the mall to check on Steve and Robin. There was something they were doing that I wanna check in on."

El and Max moved to get changed quickly before piling into Piper's car and heading towards the Wheeler house. When Piper pulled up she saw Mike waiting out front with them, quickly leading them into the basement of the house.

"So what did you dweebs need?" Max spoke as the three of them walked into the basement.

When Piper walked in she saw Will sitting nervously on the couch, and Lucas sitting beside him.

"Will will explain it to you." Mike sighed and sat on a chair off the side.

"About?" Piper spoke

"I-I tried to ignore it. Thought it was just my worries getting the best of me ya know?" Will started to speak. "But I couldn't any more, not matter how hard I didn't wanna believe it to be true."

El walked towards Will quickly and knelt down in front of them, gently grabbing his hand to comfort the nearly shaking boy.

"Believe what, Will?" El whispered

"The feelings." Will licked his lips "First it was when we snuck into the movies at Star Court Mall, and then the power went out."

"I remember that." Piper whispered

"Then again when we went to the field near Nelson's farm. And then again last night...near Castle Byers."

"What does it feel like?" Max asked

"Like the feeling you get when you're sitting at the top of a roller-coaster and you're waiting for it to take that first deep drop."

"Like a ice cold grip on the back of your neck, filling your stomach with dread." Piper spoke, her gaze blank and voice almost a whisper. Everyone's heads turned towards the older girl.

"Yeah...h-how did you know."

Piper shook her head and looked towards Will. "I-I've been feeling that. I-I don't know how, or why, but since yesterday I've felt like this pressuring weight of fear and..." She shrugged "I don't know why. When have you felt this before, Will?"

"It's only happened when he's around..." His eyes looked around towards everyone, but no one understanding who he was referencing. "The Mind Flayer"

Piper's eyes widened as she stared down towards Will. His gaze locked with hers as she slowly began to shake her head.

"Are you sure?" Max asked

"I closed the gate." El clarified

"But how are we sure that we stopped him? What if when you closed the gate a piece of him was able to get locked out here...with us. What if when that part that was inside of me...the piece that my mom got out, got locked out."

"But that doesn't make any sense. The demo-dogs died when the gate was closed, cause it was cut off from the Mind Flayer. Wouldn't that piece have died off too?" Max asked

"We can't take any chances." Mike stood up from his seat "We have to make sure that it's really gone."

"I agree." Piper spoke "If Will is feeling this then we have to at least chest it out and make sure."

"First things first it would need a host, like what it did to me." Will spoke up "So we need to figure out first if it was able to get a host."

"How do we find out if someone is a host?" El asked

"We gotta burn it out of 'em, like what my mom did with me in the cabin. It doesn't like heat."

El looked across the room towards Piper and gave her a sympathetic look "I-I think I know who we can start with first."

* * *

Piper walked around the towards the back of her truck before parking at the pool, the parking lot filled with cars and once again the annoying sound of children screaming filling the air. Piper didn't wanna believe El when she suggested Billy to be checked out first. Who would wanna believe that their boyfriend had been taken over by some monster, no one. But the the drive over she was able to think about it, and the dots connected. The weird behavior, not knowing El's name, the melted ice bath back in his bathroom – those were signs that couldn't be ignored.

Piper grabbed the handle to pull down the door to the bed of her truck, looking for the binoculars that had been left behind after one of her and Billy's date nights. They placed blankets across the bed and watched for shooting stars. Piper smiled fondly at the memory before grabbing them and closing the bed back up. When she walked towards the kids, they all were hunched slightly between cars, making sure that neither Billy or Heather would spot them.

"Alright got 'em." Piper sighed and stood between Max and Mike as she pulled them up to her face, scanning over the pool area before spotting Billy. She frowned slightly as she saw he was covered head to toe with towels, hats and an umbrella. "That's weird. It's nearly 85 today and he's covered like it's 45." Piper passed the binoculars to Mike to allow him to see.

"Yeah, ok, that's a little weird. But that doesn't mean he's possessed." Max defended

"When have you ever see that guy walk around even wearing a shirt?" Lucas argued.

Piper chuckled softly "He's got a point. Your brother walks around with his shirt barely on, let alone wearing layers."

"We have to come to terms that this is all pointing towards your bother, Max. Between the ice baths and the covering up he's trying to shield away from the sun." Mike spoke up, turning towards the red head.

"But he's lounging at the pool still doing his job. Why would the Mind Flayer want that if it hates heat."

"Because it needs to hide." Will answered "He would only use you when you're needed. It's like you don't have control over your body."

"We have to make sure it's not him, Max." Piper sighed "I would rather have Billy mad at me because we tested him, than do nothing and have him hurt himself or someone else cause that..._thing_ has control of him"

"So then what do we do?"

Piper turned her gaze back towards Billy and bit down on her lip "It's gonna take all of us. And we're gonna have to wait till the pool is shut down before we do anything." She turned down towards Mike, Lucas and Will. "You three head towards the men's locker room, start to map out a plan to get Billy from his post towards the back sauna in the locker room."

Mike nodded his head before the three of them run off and head towards the men's locker room.

"And what do we do?"

"We wait." Piper leaned against the hood of her truck. "Guess I'm not heading back to the mall today."

* * *

Mike and the boys were able to come up with a clear path and plan to get Billy into the back sauna room of the locker room. Piper sat at the back of her truck keeping an eye on Billy his entire shift, he saw them he wasn't alluding to the fact that he could.

"What are we gonna do if it is him" Max asked as they slowly watched cars drive out of the parking lot as it got closer and closer for the pool to close.

"We'll deal with it when that time comes. But right now we have to figure out the first part before we do anything." Piper sighed softly

"You love him. Don't you?" Max asked as she looked up towards Piper. Piper's gaze moved away from Billy and down towards Max. "I can tell...that you do. It's how you look at him. My mom used to look at my dad the same way, till...the divorce."

Piper nodded her head. "I do. I love your brother very much."

Max nodded her head. "He's changed since he's been with you. I mean...he's still a complete asshole sometimes. But not as much. He's not..._as_ angry all the time. You're good for him."

Piper blushed slightly "That means a lot, Max. Thank you."

Max smiled towards her and moved to grab Piper's hand tightly till their eyes shifted back towards the pool. Once the final car pulled out of the parking lot, Piper moved hers farther towards the back so that he wouldn't be able to see.

Piper grabbed her walkie and paged. "You guys got everything?"

There was feedback before Mike answered back. "Copy. Got chains to hold him and every things in place. We just need you Piper."

"I'm heading in and Mike...promise me...that no matter what happens you protect El.

"Piper...what are you..."

"Just promise me Mike!" She cut him off.

"I-I promise." Mike answered "He's just stepped into the shower, Piper."

"I'm walking in."

Piper took a deep breath as she moved towards the back entrance of the pool hall, being careful to be as quiet as possible in order to not be caught or detected by Billy. She saw the other lifeguards leave for the day and knew that he was here alone. She pressed lightly on the doors of the men's locker room and slipped inside, before moving to hide in a closet not far from the sauna. She knew that everyone else was in place and prayed that this would work.

Her heart was racing and pounding against her chest as she heard Billy's voice, and his foot steps as he moved around the locker room. Piper gripped the walkie in her hand tightly before pressing the button to speak into it.

"Billy..." She could hear her voice echoing through the locker room. "Billy...please..." Max reached forward to grab her hand tightly as she heard Piper sniffle slightly. "Billy..."

"Piper!?" His voice echoed through the locker room, but it was laced with anger. "Piper I'm not playing games right now."

She could hear him moving around the locker room, pushing back shower curtains and searching for where the source of the voice was coming from.

"Billy...come and find me."

"I find you, Piper...it's your funeral." His voice was deep and caused her back to straighten.

She could hear the sound of a door close, drawing his attention towards the sauna. The door opened again and Piper knew that was him. Piper quickly moved to turn off the walkie before looked through the slots of the closet door. Her and Max watched with baited breath as he let out a maniac type of laughter, clapping to himself, before throwing the sauna door open. Piper counted to ten in her head, before slowly opening the closet door. She looked across the room and saw Mike and Will doing the same, inching towards the sauna, to slam the door shut. Piper stood up straight and walk in front of the door way. His back was turned towards her.

"Hey," She spoke, causing Billy to turn around quickly and look towards her with wild eyes. "Looking for me."

A eerie smile spread across his face, but before he could even make a move, El stepped up beside Piper and used her powers to throw Billy back farther into the small room. His back smashed against the tiled wall causing it to crack and break from the impact. The moment his body was thrown, Mike and Will moved to close the door as Max fed a pipe through the handle, jamming it quickly. Will came up behind her and fed a chair through the handle as well, locking it, for extra strength.

"Holy shit," Lucas cursed as he took a step back away from the door as Billy began to beat and smash against it. The chains rattled but wouldn't budge no matter how hard he tried.

Piper stood there, the kids moving behind her quickly, as he stared back at them. Billy's eyes didn't move away from Piper's as he stared towards her.

"Piper." He whispered, the mask breaking away slightly and she was able to see Billy. And not the one from before inside Heather's home. No, she was able to see _her_ Billy.

"Do it." Piper spoke with conviction, as Mike stepped forward and walked towards the control panel beside the sauna. "Turn it all the way up. I want this thing gone."

All of them watched as the steam began to rise, Billy pressing his hands against the door and panting loudly with each passing moment of the heat rising. The fear feeling was back, gripping Piper's neck and making her feel weighted down with dread.

"Let me out of here!" Billy screamed as he pounded on the door. "You think this is funny! Huh! Open the door!"

"That's not Billy." Max whispered and shook her head in disbelief, her eyes watering, as she came to the realization of what was happening to Billy. "That's not him"

"I know Max, I know." Piper moved to bend down towards the girl, pushing her hair from her face to soothe her. "But we're gonna get your brother back. I promise you that."

Max nodded her head, but kept her eyes on the sauna as Billy became more and more angry. Pressing his face against the glass panel of the door as he screamed and cursed towards all of them. Will walked towards the small gauge on the side and read the temperature.

"We're at 220." He sighed.

Piper turned around to look back towards the door and saw that Billy was gone. She could hear whimpering and crying coming from inside. Her heart felt like it was in her throat as she moved away from Max and slowly walked towards the door. As Piper got closer she could start to make out the words.

"I didn't mean too. I'm sorry...Piper, I'm so sorry."

When Piper got to the glass looked down to see Billy on the ground, rocking back and forth, as he gripped tightly to his wet hair.

"It wasn't my fault. I promise. It...it wasn't my fault."

"What wasn't your fault, Billy." Piper spoke softly as she looked down towards him, causing his head to pop up. There were tears streaming down his face but the color was back in his eyes. "Y-you can tell me...What wasn't your fault."

"He made me do them...I-I didn't want to. But he made me." Billy chocked out. "You have to believe me, Piper...I-I didn't want to."

"I believe you." She spoke quickly and turned around to look towards Max, the girl clinging to Lucas as she cried softly, before Piper looked back towards Billy. "Who made you do these things, Billy."

"He's like a shadow..." Billy cried "H-He made me...I didn't want to! Piper! I didn't want to!"

Billy moved onto his side and cried harder as his fingers gripped against the concrete of the sauna. Piper's hand moved to cup her mouth as she watched him wither against the floor. Billy's cries becoming harder and not able to understand him more.

"Don't leave me...please Piper." He cried

"I won't. I promise." Piper pressed her hand against the glass "I love you, Billy. I won't leave."

Billy moved under the bench slightly and as quickly as the Mind Flayer let Billy step forward, he was gone. The act of crying still going through, enough to let Piper believe. His hand inched towards a piece of broken tile on the floor and gripped it tightly in his grasp. _She's mine now_. Piper continued to talk to Bill through the glass, not noticing Will behind her.

"I-I feel him," Will whispered softly, turning his attention towards Mike.

Mike nodded his head. "Piper, get away from the door." Everyone's attention went from Piper, back to Mike. Piper turned her head away from Billy as well.

"What?"

"Get away from the door!" He screamed as he watched Billy stand back up and charge for the door.

Piper turned her head in time and gasped loudly as Billy charged through the door. Glass shattered everywhere as his body propelled through the small opening, causing Piper to jump back and away from him.

"Let me out of here, you bitch!" Billy screamed, the now wild look back in his eyes. "Let me out!"

Piper moved away from him, her eyes locked on him in shock, as he thrashed about. He reached down and started to yank and grab at the pipe and chain that was locking him. Lucas thinking quickly to grab something from the ground and chucking it at his head. Billy stood there stunned for a moment, before dropping back to the ground. Piper stopped and turned around her arms spreading out to block and protect the kids.

"H-He can't get out of those can he?" Max spoke with fear shaking in her voice.

"No way." Lucas answered

But soon after answering, the door flew open and slammed against the floor, and Billy slowly stepping out and coming face to face with Piper. His body was covered in bruises and black vein that seemed to protrude against his skin. Billy's eyes were blank and dark as they stared down towards her, his chest heaving with each and every breath. El moved quickly and stepped around Piper, to use her powers, and send a heavy barbell towards Billy. He slammed against the brick wall, trapped against the weight, but still struggling against it. Angry growls coming from deep within his chest.

"Go! Run!" El shouted towards them.

"No! I'm not leaving you here, El." Piper shouted towards her as she looked between the teen girl and Billy.

"I don't care. Go!" El shouted as the blood started to drip from her nose her strength weakening. Piper knew that and acted fast and on instinct.

Piper moved quickly as she pushed El out of the way as the heavy weight was thrown from Billy's chest and across the room. The edge of the bar smacking the side of Piper's head and causing her to fall quickly, but not lose consciousness. Billy moved quickly and bent down and grabbed Piper by the back of her head and yank her from the ground.

"Run! Go!" Piper screamed

Mike grabbed El's hand and dragged her away as she screamed Piper's name, keeping his promise to her, as he pulled her through the halls. The lights still flickering around them as she felt Billy's hand move to her throat quickly squeezing and cutting the air from her lungs. Piper clawed as his hands and wrists as his grip tightened.

"Billy." She chocked

A tear slipped down Billy's cheek and for just a moment she was able to see _her_ Billy again before everything went dark.

**AN: So...that happened. I have much planned so be patient with me. Next chapter is gonna be a little shorter, but VERY important. And I know in the show Billy and Max were to have a moment in the sauna, but it was vital for what I had planned that it was Billy and Piper. Please leave a review, much appreciated.**


	22. No Goodbye's

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

**No Goodbye's**

El slapped and punched against Mike's chest as he dragged her through the back hallway of the community building. With the help of Will, he was able get her outside and back towards Piper's truck. Thankfully she was also too distracted and upset to use her powers against them. The moment her feet were on ground El made a move to step back towards the door, but Mike quickly grabbed her shoulders to block her from moving. She glared up towards him quickly.

"What is wrong with you!" El's face turning red as she cried "She needs us! We left her! How could you do that?"

Mike held tighter to El's shoulders to keep her in place. Even thought deep down he knew if El wanted to move him, she could. "I promised her that I would keep you safe, El. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

El stared up towards him as tears rain down her cheeks. "I can't leave her Mike. I can't...lose her."

"A-And you won't. We'll figure something out and get her back." Mike sighed softly

Another sob left El's throat as she collapsed against Mike's chest. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and held her as she began to cry. Lucas held Max as she cried into his neck. All of them stood there scared of not only what just happened, but also because of the fact that the Mind Flayer was back, and once again the people they loved were now in danger.

"So what do we do now?" Lucas spoke up.

"We need to find Hopper or Will's mom...someone" Mike spoke and nodded his head. "He's back, and now he's got Piper."

"And Billy." Max spoke up and sniffled slightly "He's got my brother, we have to save both Billy and Piper."

Mike nodded his head. "We'll save them."

The sound of a car engine revving caught their attention, and they watched from across the parking lot as Billy's car sped out in the opposite direction. Mike reached down and gripped El's hand tightly.

"Let's get out of here."

* * *

Piper groaned as she rolled onto her side feeling the wet floor beneath her body. Without even opening her eyes she knew that her arms were taped behind her back. She blinked a few times before opening her eyes and was welcomed by darkness. Not complete darkness, but enough where she wasn't able to fully tell where she was. Piper groaned again as she tried to move and felt pain in her chest, as she took a deep breath she then felt a pain in her throat. The sound of dripping water was all she could hear as she started to look around again. _Warehouse?_ As she looked up, Piper was able to see sunlight peaking through the small windows along the top of the walls. _Warehouse for sure_.

Ignoring the pain in her ribs, throat and back she rolled up to slowly sit up and resting back against the wall behind her. She tried to feel around for anything behind her that would help but came up empty. She pressed her head back against the wall and closed her eyes as she hear the ringing in her ear start intensify. It felt like forever, or maybe it was minutes, Piper couldn't really tell – she heard footsteps. When she looked up, Piper saw Billy walking towards her slowly and stiffly. Her back straightened more and made sure to keep her eyes on him.

"Good. You're awake." He smirked down towards her.

"P-Please..." Piper whimpered as she used her leg to press her back against the wall behind her.

"Shut up." He glared down towards her and bent down in front of her, till his eyes were leveled with hers. Piper flinched back slightly as his hand reached up and moved a curl from in front of her eyes, before caressing her cheek softly.

"I see why he likes you." Billy spoke, his fingers moved down along her bruised neck. "He cried for you. Begged really, it was quite pathetic. You humans are so weak."

Piper slowly looked towards him, her eyes hardening as she stared back towards him. "What do you want?"

"You know I'm really getting tired of being asked that question." Billy chuckled "I thought it was pretty clear what I wanted."

"What are you g-going to do with me?" Piper licked her lower lip.

"You're going to help me get the girl."

"You're not gonna get El." Piper growled "I won't let you touch her."

Billy chuckled darkly "I don't think you're in a position to stop me. You see...thanks to your boyfriends help, I was able to know that _you_ and that _girl_ are close. And that she'll come for you. That's why I chose him, and that's why I chose you."

"They'll come for me." Piper spoke

Billy smiled towards her, not reaching the eyes. "I'm betting on it."

Billy stood up and moved towards the other side of the room and towards the door that was somewhere Piper wasn't able to see. Billy was right, they'd do anything to come and get her and that was something that she couldn't let happen. Searching again, Piper began to look for anything that would help. Ignoring the pain in her body as she moved across the dirty floor. Her eyes searched the floor and felt relief as she saw a piece of broken glass across the floor. Scooting closer, Piper reached for it, moving it around in her hands slowly, to make sure not to cut her skin. She was able to move it to press against the tape that was bound around her arm. Slowly and delicately she moved the shard of glass against the tape, bite down on her lip to muffle the whimpers as she cut her fingertips slightly.

Piper pulled her arms around towards her front, blood dripping down from her fingertips, once the binds broke free. She felt a bit of relief before standing quickly, determination of getting out of where she was. Piper looked around and could tell from the shadows on the floor that it was late in the day, very little sunlight coming from the windows above. Piper slowly walked across the warehouse, making sure not to make a sound, and opening the door that Billy had come through before. She ignored the pain in the back of her head that was causing her ears to ring. She came to a corner and peeked around and saw someone pacing at the end of the hall._ Fuck_.

Piper slowly began to back away, till her back smacked against something hard, and it wasn't a wall. Her heart sank as she slowly turned around and came face to face with Billy. She opened her mouth to speak before his hand was placed back around her throat.

"You really thought that you could leave me?" He growled and held her tightly in place.

Instinctively her hand moved up towards his wrist, her nails digging into his skin, as she gasped for air.

"Billy...please..."

"He's not here." Billy chuckled "Well he is. Begging for me not to hurt you. Crying like a little bitch."

Piper gasped and moved her hand down towards her back pocket. She knew her only way, at this point, was going to be reach Billy. He was there, deep down. And she needed him. Piper's hand moved around to her back pocket and grasped the photo sitting in her back pocket. Pulling it out quickly, Piper held the photo up in front of Billy's face. Billy's eyes looked towards and for a moment, he froze. It was like he was entranced. Billy's grip slipped from her throat and started to loosen. She gasped loudly as she dropped to the floor on her knees. The photo floating down between them. When Piper looked up towards him, Billy's eyes were watering as he stared at her.

"Piper." He whispered, his voice strained and hurt.

"Billy?" She questioned and he nodded his head. Reaching down quickly to help her stand up. He caressed her cheek and stared down towards her with watering eyes, tears soon flowing down his cheeks. "Oh, my god Billy. Is this you? Really you?"

"I promise Piper. I promise." Billy pulled her closer to him. "I'm so sorry...I-I couldn't stop him...I wasn't strong enough."

"Shh, shh." Piper shook her head. "It's ok. I know. I know."

Billy winced and let out a groan, backing away from her slowly. "Y-You need to get out of here, Piper. I-I don't know how much longer..." He cried out again and stumbled back.

"Billy...please...you have to fight him." Piper moved towards him quickly and grabbed his face, making his eyes look back towards her. "I know you can, baby. Please. You have to fight back!"

Billy nodded his head and stood up straighter "I-I love you, Piper."

Her stomach sank slightly. "Don't do that...don't say that like you're saying goodbye."

Billy whimpered and caress her cheek, before bending down and kissing her deeply. She gripped his shirt tightly and molded her body against his. "I'm not saying goodbye. I-I'll fight back...for you."

Piper smiled up towards him and pushed back his damp curls. "I love you too. And after all this shit is done we're going to California. Ok? Me and you."

Billy smiled and nodded his head before moving to kiss her forehead and held her tightly. They stood there together for only a moment, before Billy let out another sound of pain. Piper looked down towards his arms and watched as the black veins began to spread across his skin. She pulled away from Billy and watched as he stumbled back.

"No...no...no..." Piper began to cry and shake her head. "Billy...please..."

"R-Run, Piper." Billy groaned. "Now! Run, I can't hold him off for much longer! Go!"

Piper stood there for a moment and watched as slowly the Mind Flayer once again began to take over his form. Her eye stayed locked with his, knowing that it was him staring back at her, before she turned on her foot and ran down the hall. Her feet hit against the pavement as she raced through the halls of the abandoned warehouse. Piper ran up a flight of stairs and came, to what she could only assume, was the main floor. She looked to her left and saw a door jammed open and quickly ran towards it. She knew the only reason that she was able to escape out was because of Billy. And with that thought, she also knew there was a way to save him.

* * *

Piper ran down the road even though her lungs felt like they were going to burst. She panted heavily as she stumped towards the cabin, the sun now gone as the summer night surrounded her. When she looked up, Piper was able to see lights were on but didn't see her Uncles truck. Piper held tightly to her side as she stumbled up the steps and stood in front of the door. It was like her body knew that it was home as she felt the strength slowly leave her body. Piper stumbled slightly before her body collided with the front door. From inside, El and everyone jumped and looked towards the door, all frozen in fear.

"What the fuck was that?" Mike asked

"Do you think it found us?" Max whispered

Jonathan was the first to move, grabbing a shot gun from the closet beside the front door, before looking towards Nancy.

"Open it, and I'll keep on the door." Jonathan spoke, causing Nancy to move quickly and walk towards the door. She hesitated for a moment, her eyes connecting with Jonathan's, before she quickly opened the front door of the cabin.

What they weren't expecting was Piper's body to slump through the doorway and fall at their feet. Her body covered in dirt, blood, sweat and bruises. Jonathan set the gun down quickly and moved to pick her up from the floor, a groan leaving her lip as her eyes fought to open.

"Oh my god! Piper!" El jumped up from the couch and moved towards her, watching as Jonathan carried her limp body farther into the room. Nancy closed the door quickly and followed behind Jonathan.

Jonathan gently set her down on the couch once the kids moved up from it, looking over her body for injuries. The only thing he could make out was the gash on her head and bruises around her neck.

"Nance, get me a warm rag." Jonathan yelled over his shoulder, before turning his attention back towards Piper. "She look likes she ran through hell to get back here."

Nancy grabbed a warm cloth and came back and knelt down beside Jonathan, pressing it against her head to clean away the dry blood. Piper whimpered softly and moved her head to the side, before relaxing back against the couch.

"You said Billy took her?" Nancy looked up towards the kids, before her eyes fixed on El.

"Y-yeah." El looked down towards her "We thought for sure he'd take her and flay her just like Heather."

"Why would he let her go?" Jonathan whispered

"Maybe he didn't." Will spoke slowly "What if she's infected just like the rest of them."

Jonathan shook his head. "I saw Tom back at the hospital. He...He didn't look like this. I can't describe it but...it was different from what happened to you Will."

"Will's right." Mike spoke "We still have to make sure. So until she wakes up. For right now, we assume she's the enemy."

"Max turn the radio on for me?" El spoke, Max nodding her head and grabbing the radio from the kitchen table and turning it on for a white noise station.

El slowly moved towards Piper and knelt down between Nancy and Jonathan. Her eyes moving over Piper's frame, before grabbing her hand and closing her eyes. Everyone watched her as she sat there. The lights of the cabin began to flicker rapidly before settling, and at that moment, El's eyes shot open.

"She's not flayed." El spoke softly, her shoulders relaxing with visible relief.

"Are you sure?"

El nodded her head and smiled. "I'm sure. She's not like Billy and Heather."

Jonathan sighed with relief and nodded his head. "Either way we gotta know what happened. We'll let her rest now and after that we gotta question her."

AN: Please leave a review!


	23. Sister

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

**Sister**

The first thing Piper noticed when her eyes opened was the weathered ceiling of the cabin. The second thing was the sound of voices, voices that were all too familiar. And lastly she realized that she as in the safety of her bedroom. Her fingers moved slowly against the soft cotton of her sheets before slowly trying to move her body more. Slowly Piper sat up in her bed, groaning softly as she felt a pressure build slightly in her head, a head ache quickly forming, before swinging her legs over the edge of the queen sized bed. Piper sat there for a moment and tried to focus on the voices, not really being able to make out what was being said. Next she turned her head to the side and saw that it was night time, meaning she hadn't really slept for that long – sun was going down last time she could remember.

After a moment or two, she stood from her bed and slowly walked towards her adjoined bathroom – her limbs feeling like they were filled with lead. The moment the bright florescent lights of the bathroom met her eyes, she shrunk back slightly, before they were able to adjust fully. Piper looked around confused for a moment before her eyes locked onto her own reflection in the mirror. Her neck was littered with bruises. Long vertical lines across her neck colored with red, blue and purple. She could see the blotches from the broken blood vessels under her skin as well. Her hand moved up to cup over her mouth as she stumbled back in shock. Piper collected her self after a moment, before looking back, and seeing the bruise on the side of her head._ From the barbell no doubt_, she thought to herself. Piper stumbled around the bathroom a little more, grabbing a few things, before turning on the shower. A loud sigh of relief passed through Piper's lips as she felt the warm water hit against her back, almost instantly relaxing the muscles. She stood there for a moment, enjoying the feeling of the warm water against her cold skin, before she quickly washed up. Piper didn't step out till the water ran cold, which wasn't extremely long for the cabin, but enough for her to collect her thoughts and face whoever was out in the living room.

Piper stepped out, dried off, and slipped into the clean clothes that she had grabbed before getting into the shower. A pair of jean shorts, socks, sneakers and a old Hawaiian floral button up that she'd stolen from her Uncle a while back. It was little over-sized on her frame but the comfort of wearing something that belonged to her Uncle was needed. Piper frowned once seeing the bruises again on her neck, before turning and stepping into her bedroom. Piper froze for a moment when she saw who was sitting on her bed.

"Nancy?" Piper whispered softly as the girl smiled towards her. Taking a small glance at Nancy gave Piper a quick understanding that she too had been through something too.

"Hey...I-I thought you'd maybe wanna talk to someone...or something before you faced everyone." She spoke up as Piper slowly walked across the room and towards her small desk, where her hair brush and things laid across the top.

"I-I don't know what to say." Piper seemed to be shying away from Nancy, her body seeming to be curled defensively as she grabbed her brush and pulled her curly hair into a half-up, half down style.

Nancy nodded her head. "Well how about...how are you?"

Piper couldn't help the scuff that left her lips. She sat there for a moment, before turning her gaze towards Nancy. "I feel lost."

"Lost?"

Piper bit her lip and nodded "I-I don't know what to do. I mean do any of us? I watched as my boyfriend lost a fight with a monster we thought that we had finally gotten rid of." Piper's eyes watered with tears._ God I'm so sick of crying_. "He was the reason I escaped, Nance."

"Billy?" Piper nodded her head as she reached up to wipe her eyes. "H-How? I thought he was flayed."

"He was. I-I mean he is." Piper sniffled and collected herself. "I had a photo of Billy and I from his house. I showed it to him and it was like the Mind Flayer lost his grip on Billy for just a moment. Long enough for me to talk to him, long enough for Billy to let me go and get away."

"Did he tell you what the Mind Flayer wanted?"

Piper nodded her head. "He wants El. But Billy didn't tell me that. The Mind Flayer did. He wanted to use me as bait to get her to come to him...but that didn't work obviously."

Nancy looked confused for a moment as she tried to piece things together in her mind. "El? Why?"

There was a knock on the bedroom door before either girl could speak, both turning their head towards the door, Piper calling out to whomever was behind the door. It opened quickly and El nearly ran into the room and straight towards Piper. Piper stood quickly before the young girls body collided into hers, a vice like grip of a hug wrapping around Piper's middle. Piper gripped to El tightly and buried her head into the top of her head.

"I'm so happy you're ok..." El spoke, her voice muffled slightly from her face being buried into Piper's chest. "I was so scared."

"I'm sorry, kid." Piper pulled back slightly and caressed El's face and smiled down towards her "But I'm ok. I promise."

"I-I know." El pulled back "I checked."

Piper nodded her head and pushed back El's hair, knowing exactly what the girl meant. Piper looked towards Nancy.

"Are you ok?" She asked her friend.

Nancy nodded her head "Seems we both had to fight some demons today." She stood up from Piper's bed. "Why don't we get you caught up on everything? I'm sure there are some things you could tell us and maybe we'll be able to figure something out?"

The three girls walked out of the bedroom, down the small hallway, before turning into the living room. Piper was once again welcomed with hugs from the boys, all talking at once asking as many questions as they could. But Piper's focus was on one girl, Max.

"Hold on, guys. Give me a second." Piper spoke as she walked past them and towards Max who was sitting on the couch. She sat on the coffee table across from her, gently grabbed her hands and gave her a small smile. "How are ya holding up?"

Max shrugged "As best as I can. D-Did you see Billy?" Piper nodded her head "D-Did he say anything."

"That he was sorry." Piper answered quickly "And that he's gonna fight. I think I know what to do in order to make sure we both get him back."

"How?" Max asked

"We just gotta remind him who he is."

* * *

Piper stood beside Jonathan as they all caught each other up what had happened over the last twenty-four or so hours. What happened at the hospital from Mrs. Driscoll being admitted to Nancy and Jonathan subsequently killing Tom and one of the editors from the paper. Though seeing as the two were flayed, Piper wouldn't say that Jonathan and Nancy really killed them at all. Piper told them what happened at the warehouse and how Billy helped her escape. Something that they were all able to agree on was that the Mind Flayer was building a arm, seeing as in the past alone he wasn't able to defeat El. He was going to need back up in order to make sure he was successful this time.

"Do you think Billy is going to know where you ran to?" Jonathan asked.

Piper shrugged her shoulders "I don't think so. Maybe he'll think Billy will just let me go again. Billy ruined his plan in order to use me to get to El."

"Now he's gonna have to come up with something new." Nancy spoke softly from her place on the couch.

All of the jumped slightly as the sound of fireworks started to sound from above, shaking the cabin slightly. Piper groaned slightly as she relaxed back into the wall and reaching up to gently rub her temples to try and relieve some of the pressure caused by her headache.

"If only they knew what the hell was going on," She muttered

"It's better off if they don't." Jonathan spoke.

"So we know that he's building an army, and not to spread like we originally thought." Mike spoke "He's pissed off because El closed the gate."

"And he's gonna do whatever it takes to make sure that he gets that as well." Lucas continued

"Including killing us if it comes to it." Piper looked towards El, who shrank back slightly.

Fireworks shook the cabin again, but followed but the sound of a monstrous shrieking noise. Everyone's backs straightened, knowing exactly who and what was making that noise. On instinct Piper moved towards El and pulled her to her side. Realistically El would be able to defend not only herself, but everyone in that cabin. But Piper didn't care. All she cared about what that _thing_ not getting it's hand on El. As the fire works continued so did the noise.

"Piper are you sure that Billy doesn't know that you're here?" Jonathan asked

Piper opened her mouth a few times to answer, but nothing came out, because deep down she knew that she wasn't herself sure. _Could he? Would he allow that to happen? Would he be able to even stop it from finding out?_ Piper's eyes looked towards Jonathan with doubt and worry. Will let out a whimpered noise and reached towards the back of his neck, gripping it tightly.

"Guys." He whimpered, the noise increasing with each second. "He knows that we're here."

Piper, Jonathan and everyone else jumped up quickly and rushed out the front door of the cabin. One by one they rushed towards the front yard and looked towards where the fireworks were flaring across the sky. But from the distance, through the movement of the trees, Piper was able to see it. And she was sure everyone else was able to see it. The dark looming, monstrous, figure heading towards them. The eerie shrieking coming from it sending a chill down her spine.

"Fuck," Piper whispered before backing away slightly "Guys! Look for something!" Piper turned quickly and headed towards the house knowing exactly where he Uncle kept his guns. "Nancy! Shed, there is a shot gun, shovels, and more in there."

Piper shouted over her shoulder as she opened up the hall closet and pushed the handle of a ax into Jonathan's hand before she grabbed another gun from a case on the shelf above. She fumbled slightly with loading the bullets inside, before she stood up and turned to see everyone boarding the windows up with bookshelves, chairs, and tables. _This was last winter all over again_. Piper could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins quickly.

"Get away from the windows." Nancy scolded as she grabbed Max and pulled the her away. Everyone slowly forming a circle to make sure every point of the cabin was covered.

Piper was shoulder to shoulder with Jonathan and Nancy, gun pointed towards the front door, and aimed towards anything that came through the door. There was a silence that dark over-looming feeling weighing over the entire cabin. The sound of fireworks no longer booming in the background, the air was still and even the sound of a light on the wall rocking slightly could be heard. The dark looming fear washed over Piper again as she felt, and heard, a thud come from outside.

"He's close." Will whispered. There there were footsteps, heavy ones, enough to make glass shake off the shelves and crash to the floor. Then there was silence again.

"W-Where'd he go?" El asked as everyone looked around for any sign of the Mind Flayer.

Before anyone could make a move, the shrieking sound came through the cabin, and Piper was knocked to her feet. Something had smacked against her back and sent her across the room, Jonathan landing next to her. She rolled over onto her back to see a long, slimy, red tentacle ripping through the side of the cabin, and right into the living room. When Piper looked towards the far corner she was able to see Mike, Lucas and Max huddled together with El protecting them all.

"El!" Piper screamed, her scream barely being heard over the noise coming from the Mind Flayer.

Jonathan moved quickly to stand from the ground, rearing the ax back before slamming it the blade towards the middle. A scream came from the monster as Jonathan was able to land another blow, before the tentacle wiped to the side, slamming into Jonathan sending him crashing into a bookshelf. As he landed onto his back, the Mind Flayer moved towards him. Piper looked around for her gun, grabbing it, before pointing it towards the Mind Flayer. Nancy seemed to have the same idea as she shot straight towards it as well. Another loud shriek came from it as the bullets pierced it's skin, trying to make moves towards the girls, but falling unsuccessful. Piper cursed as her gun jammed, letting out a curse. But when she looked up, once again, she was face to face with the monster. Her eyes widened and she moved to duck, waiting for darkness. But it never came.

When Piper slowly opened her eyes, she saw that the Mind Flayer was frozen. Screeching and wailing in pain, before it was pulled back away from her. El stood in the center of the living room, her hand out, mind controlling the tentacle away from Piper and crushing it into nothing. But soon two more crashed into the cabin, causing once again, for people to move back and duck away from the falling ceiling. El moved quickly though to fend off the tentacles reaching for her. El let out a loud scream as the two were pulverized. Piper thought it was all done. That the Mind Flayer would shrink away. But it didn't, not this time, it was angry.

Piper watched in horror, as straight behind El, a large tentacle ripped through the ceiling and gripped El by her ankle. The small girl was knocked off her feet and straight into the floor, before being pulled backwards. Mike was the closest, and quickest, to reach for her. Everyone seemed to move at once as they grabbed El's arms, pulling as hard as they could to get her out of that monsters grasp. Piper looked up towards the ceiling and could see the angry face looking back down towards them. Layers of teeth opening as it shrieked. Fighting with the group as he reached for El. She looked down towards the floor, towards the discarded shot gun Nancy had dropped and rushed towards it. She silently prayed to whatever god was listening, as she checked to see if there were shells inside. Piper sighed in relief when, in fact, there were.

Piper pointed towards the mouth of the Mind Flayer. "Let go of my fucking sister, you piece of shit!" Piper shouted before pulling the trigger.

She shot again, and again, and again. Her eyes focused as she heard it shriek in pain. As Piper shot, Lucas was hitting it with the ax over and over again. Piper kept her eyes locked on the thing that was pulling away someone that she loved. She felt an anger bubbling in her chest that she'd never felt before. Finally the hold on El was broken, and she fell back towards Mike, Will, Max and Jonathan. Piper didn't lower the gun as the face peered more through the roof. El turned on her feet, facing off with him, before raising both hands up and letting out a scream that Piper had never heard before. She watched in amazement as the face that glared down towards them split in half.

"Holy shit!" Nancy screamed as blood and gore rained down into the cabin. Piper looked towards the kids and moved quickly.

"Go!" She screamed "Let's go!"

Jonathan and Nancy worked with Piper as she moved to push the kids out of the cabin as quickly as she could, holding tightly to the gun in her hand and rushing out of the cabin. Piper followed behind as the ran towards Jonathan's car and piled inside, Nancy sliding into the drivers seat. Piper pulled El into her lap and caressed her face gently, moving to wipe the blood from her nose as Nancy sped out from in front of the cabin.

* * *

Piper held tightly to El as Nancy sped through the streets of Hawkins, El crying into Piper's neck as she gripped tightly to Piper's shirt. Everyone else in the car was stunned in silence of what just happened to them, no one's mind being able to catch up to what they were feeling. Scared – more like petrified.

"Nancy! Pull over!" Jonathan spoke pointing towards a convenient store on the side of the road.

Piper looked out the windows for the first time and noticed they had to be on the outskirts of town. Nancy wiped the car towards the front of the store and stopped the car quickly, causing a few to groan as they slammed against each other in the back of the car. One by one they moved to pile out of Jonathan's station wagon and towards the front of the store. Piper holding tightly to El, holding her in her arms, as Lucas grabbed a rock from the ground.

"What are you going to do with that?" Max asked quickly

"How else are we getting in?" He asked, before throwing the rock straight towards the glass front door of the store.

Piper whispered softly to El, trying to calm her down, as they stepped into the store. The only source of light the bright neon signs coming from the tall fridges in the back. Jonathan and Nancy moved quickly towards the aisle searching through them quickly to find anything to help bandage up El. Piper moved quickly towards the back of the store and gently set her down, having El's back rest against a counter.

"How are you feeling?"

"L-Like shit." El whimpered.

Piper sighed softly and reached up towards the counter and quickly ripped down a container holding napkins. She gently reached down and pushed up the pant leg and groaned, along with a few others, as the severity of the cuts on her leg came into view. Nancy dropped down beside Piper, supplies spilling out from her arms, and quickly began to unravel bandages.

"What are you doing?" Max asked quickly

"Wrapping up the wound." Nancy spoke looking down towards the girl.

Max shook her head quickly. "No. No. You have to stop the bleeding, clean it up, disinfect as much as possible, and then wrap up the wound." She paused "Do you want El to get an infection?"

Everyone looked down towards Max with a look of shock on her face, even Piper. Max looked around and noticed that all eyes were on her.

"I-I skateboard." Max's eyes connected with Piper's for a moment. "Trust me." Piper looked down towards her for a moment, before it connected in her mind. _Billy_. But Piper wasn't gonna question it, instead worked to stop the bleeding with Max's help. "Keep the pressure on it as much as you can. No pressure is too much." Piper nodded her head, holding her hands tightly to El's legs. "Lucas, Will get me some soap and some water."

Quickly they broke off and searched through the store, and over time Jonathan, Nancy and Mike joined them to find anything that was gonna help El. Piper sighed softly and shifted so she was looking towards Max more.

"You didn't mean skateboarding did you?" Piper asked as she looked towards Max.

Max froze for a moment before sighing softly. Piper looked towards El and saw that her eyes were closed, thankful that for a moment, she wasn't feeling pain.

"I know about Neil, Max." Piper whispered softly, causing Max's eyes to shoot up quickly towards Piper. "Billy showed up to our house...I patched him up."

Max sighed and relaxed. "I didn't think anyone else knew."

Piper shrugged, making sure to keep the pressure on El's leg. "He didn't like talking about it. Wouldn't let me have my Uncle help him...but I knew."

"I only patched him up a couple of times." Max spoke softly, looking over her shoulders to make sure no one else could hear her. "After what happened at the Byer's house, I think he remembered...ya know...the bat and enough to not be such an asshole to me. He had his moment's but it wasn't like it used to. One day...I came home after hanging out with everyone. I didn't realize he was still up...till I walked into the bathroom. He was trying to clean up his face...and I knew what to do. The part about skateboarding wasn't a full lie."

Piper smiled towards her. "You're a good sister, Max. Don't forget that."

Max smiled towards her and nodded her head before looking around again. "The bleeding has slowed down on her leg, I'm gonna go and see where the idiots went."

Piper nodded her head as Max stood from the ground, walking towards the front of the store where most had walked off to. A small groan sounded from El's lips before her eyes blinked open a few times, looking towards Piper.

"W-Where is everyone?"

"Getting supplies so that we can patch you up." Piper smiled towards her, reaching one hand up to caress El's cheek softly. "You were amazing, El. I'm very proud of you."

"Thank you." El smiled weakly towards her, before looking down towards her leg. "Am I gonna be ok?"

Piper nodded her head "You're gonna be perfect. But, hey, we're gonna having matching scars now."

El chuckled softly and nodded her head. "Cool."

Piper looked towards El and smiled again, causing El to do the same. Piper was scared but she was making sure that no matter what she wasn't going to let her sister see that. Piper knew that she needed to save Billy. But above all she was going to keep El safe.

* * *

_AN: So I am going to start breaking up the last episodes since, A: so much happens, and B: I don't want this to end. I've become attached to Piper, and since season 4 is delayed to come out, I don't wanna stop writing for this story. I am still figuring out Billy and Piper's end. I am leaning towards one ending I have thought of, but we shall see. Please leave a review, I really do seeing you guys thoughts and feelings towards the story. _


	24. Cigarettes

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

**Cigarettes**

Piper let out a deep breath as she finished off wrapping El's ankle, making sure it was nice and tight to keep it from bleeding. Once she was done, Piper moved to sit down across from her on the other side of the aisle. El rested back and closed her eyes as she took a few deep breaths. Both sat there listening as they heard Max talking to Lucas and the muffled talking between Jonathan and Nancy. Piper rested her head back against the shelf behind her as she felt her energy slowly drain out.

"Does it hurt?" Piper asked as she moved her head to look towards El.

El shook her head and looked up towards Piper. "Not. Not really any more."

"Good"

Piper moved to gather the supplies and place them into the empty bucket that Nancy had found not too long. Both girls turned their heads towards the sound of footsteps and looked to see Mike walking towards them. Piper could tell by the look on his face he was nervous about something, and when she looked down towards El she could see the same nervousness. _They are going to need a moment_.

"I'm gonna step out and get some air." Piper spoke as she stood from the ground, before quickly walking down the aisle and towards the front of the store.

Piper stopped short at the register counter at the front of the store, eyeing the packs of cigarettes behind the counter. She thought about it for only a split second before she walked around and grabbed the first pack she saw and a lighter. _God I've needed you for a while_, she thought as she walked through the broken glass door. The moment Piper stepped into the cool air she lit the cigarette and placed it between her lips. She took in a deep inhale, held it in her lungs till they burned before slowly blowing outwards. The smoke pushed out past her lips and swirled around her face before dissipating.

"You feeling ok?"

Piper turned quickly to look over her shoulder back towards the door to see Jonathan walking out behind her, his hands fisted into the pocket of his jeans as he stood beside her. Piper shrugged her shoulders before taking another drag of the cigarette.

"You know I haven't had one of these in nearly two weeks." She chuckled before dashing the ash from the tip off to the side. "Billy was helping me quit...guess it was all for nothing."

"I'd say this is a circumstance where that's ok." Jonathan spoke softly "H-How are you holding up."

"Barely." She spoke quickly "Remember when I came to your house, after everything that happened with Will and the Demo-whatever."

"Yeah." He answered quickly.

"This is so much worse than that."

Piper looked towards Jonathan with a slight shake to her hand and her eyes quickly filling with unshed tears. He took a step towards her and placed a comforting hand onto her shoulder.

"We're going to figure this out, Piper."

"Are we, Jonathan? Are we?" She sniffled and flicked the cigarette off to the side, stomping it with her foot, but keeping her eyes on Jonathan. "Because I think this is far worse than any of us have every seen or could ever imagine. He has a fucking army! A army made up of our friends and neighbors led by my boyfriend." She chocked slightly on her words and reached up to wipe her tears. "You didn't see him, Jonathan. He's scared. Billy is so _fucking_ scared and I couldn't help him. I had him! I fucking had him for a moment and I...I had to walk away." Piper tried to take a breath but came up short, feeling a tightening starting to form in her chest. "I...I left him...I left him."

Jonathan's eyes widened in horror as he watched his friend start to fall apart in front of him. Piper's leg shook slightly and he moved quickly to catch her in his arms and slowly bring her to sit on the curb outside the store. Piper's breaths were shallow as tears cascaded down her cheeks.

"Place your head between your legs, Piper." Jonathan spoke as he moved to kneel in front of her. When he looked up towards the door he could see Nancy watching from inside the store, her face deep set in worry for her friend. "Take deep...slow breaths for me...that's it Piper...that's it."

Piper closed her eyes tightly as she tried to control her breathing, feeling her legs quiver as she gripped to her calves tightly. It took a few minutes, but slowly, she sat up and looked towards Jonathan. His eyes scanned over her slightly reddened face and caressed her cheek.

"I can't lose him...I can't lose him." She repeated as her eyes vacantly looking towards him. "I love him, Jonathan. I can't lose him. Not him too. I lost my parents and I sure as _hell_ am not going to lose Billy."

Piper smoked two more cigarettes before she was able to full calm down. She could see a few of the group looking towards her with worried eyes. She knew that she was falling apart at the seams, but also knew that now wasn't the time for that. Piper needed to stay focused and make sure she was able to think clearly. Not only was Billy on the line right now but so was her sister. She couldn't control losing her parents, since they were taken from her in a accident. But this. This Piper could control, or at least try with all her might.

"Are you sure he said 'gate'?" Max asked as they placed fireworks into the half empty cart, discussing the transmission from Dustin not too long ago. "Maybe he said, 'great'. I mean El did see him at the movies."

"I'm pretty sure it was 'gate' that makes more sense with what we are dealing with right now." Mike spoke.

"Well we better hope that Lucas's idea works, cause we're only gonna have one shot at this." Jonathan spoke as they slowly pushed the cart towards the car.

Piper followed behind the group and looked around, making sure nothing was left behind, before everyone piled back into the car. She moved to sit towards the front next to Jonathan as he started it up.

"We're gonna make it through this." He spoke, his eyes on the road, but Piper knew that he was talking to her. He reached across the center console and gripped her hand tightly. "We're gonna make it through this and then you and Billy are going to be happy. Ok?"

Piper turned to look towards him and just simply nodded her head, not able to form words. She knew that Jonathan meant well. But not even he could make that big of a promise.

* * *

Piper was one of the first out of the car as they pulled up in front of Star Court Mall. Everyone piled up and followed behind her towards the back entrance of the mall. El was close beside her as they entered through the second level of the mall. The neon lights casted over them as they walked through the empty mall. Piper pressed her hand against El's chest, causing the girl to stop for a moment, before she slowly walked towards the banister that looked down over the first floor. As she stepped closer, Piper was able to hear the soft static of a walkie system, along with footsteps. She froze for a moment and was able to see a few men down below, guns drawn, as they scoped through the mall. Piper raised her hand up, signaling for El, as the other stayed back a few feet.

"There is a car down there, think you can use that?" Piper whispered towards El.

El nodded her head before walked up towards the banister, Piper stood back as she heard the sound of the car alarm going off. Making the loud noise vibrate through the building and causing her to flinch slightly. Piper slowly began to walk off to the side and watched as El used her powers to flip the car towards the men, killing them almost instantly. There was a moment of silence before the heads of Steve, Dustin, Robin and Erika peeked over the counter.

"Steve! Robin" Piper yelled as she rushed down the steps and towards her friends, everyone following behind her.

Steve pushed off the counter and ran as fast as he could towards Piper, ignoring the pain in his body, a feeling of relief as he saw her face. A smile graced her face as she wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly against her chest, before moving to do the same to Robin.

"Oh my god I was so worried about you guys." Piper sighed and pulled back, before looking between both their faces. "Holy hell, you look like shit."

"Could say the same about you, Canon." Steven chuckled softly "We were worried for a second you wouldn't have figured out where we were."

"El was able to find you pretty quickly. It was just a matter of getting here." Piper smiled, before looking towards Robin again. "You ok?"

Robin's eyes moved from the crashed car, back to Piper, before looking over the group that stood in front of her. "I-I'm sorry...I...I don't fully understand what just happened."

"Oh," Piper took a small step back and placed her arm around El's shoulder. "This is my sister, El..."

"And she has super powers. Able to move stuff with her mind." Steve finished off for her.

"I'm sorry...what!" Robin's eyes widened more as her brain tried to processes what was being told to her. "Super...what?"

"Super powers. Come on keep up." Steve chuckled slightly.

"It's a lot at first, but take my word for it, it's better to just play along." Piper spoke before pulling away from El.

"What happened to you guys?" Mike asked looking between the two older teens in front of him.

"Russians." Steve and Robin spoke in unison.

"I'm sorry.." Nancy stepped forward "Who are you?"

"I'm Robin. I work with Steve."

"I don't think that's the important part right now, Nancy. I'm more worried about the Russian part of this conversation." Piper spoke as she crossed her arms at her chest. "Please, clarify."

Quickly everyone around Piper began to bicker and talk over each other. She rolled her eyes and looked over the group and quickly realized that El was missing. Fear crept up into her chest and held tightly to her breath as her eyes scanned over the court for El. A few feet away she noticed the bright yellow of El's shirt and saw her hunched over gripping tightly to her ears.

"El?" Piper spoke before she watched El drop quickly to the floor. "El!" Piper screamed before pushing past Robin and Steve towards her sister.

Piper moved quickly to her knees and caressed El's forehead as she whimpered in pain, from behind her, Piper was able to hear everyone else follow after her.

"What's wrong?" Piper spoke towards her sister, trying to not let the panic seep into her voice.

"M-My leg." El whimpered.

Quickly Piper moved her hands down towards El's leg and pushed up her pant leg, Mike helping with unbinding the bandage that Piper had placed on earlier. When the bandage was fully removed, it exposed to what look like an infected would.

"Holy shit!" Lucas spoke, basically saying everything that was everyone's mind.

El let out another scream of pain drawing Piper's attention back towards her. She moved to push back her hair as El cried out in pain.

"What the fuck is going on?" Steve spoke, anxiously running his fingers through his hair.

"Uh...t-there's something in her leg...it's moving!" Max screamed

"Keep her talking!" Jonathan spoke before nearly rocketing from beside Piper and heading towards the counter that Steve and the others were hiding behind earlier.

Piper reached down and gripped El's hand tightly as she continued to cry and wither in pain.

"Hey...hey remember a couple weeks ago? When we stayed up all night and watched movies." Piper spoke, El nodded her head and replied with a soft yes. "Remember all the ice cream we ate and how Hop got all mad cause we ate all the chocolate?"

"I-I remember." El spoke and tried to laugh, from the memory, but it came out more as a struggled gasp.

"We're gonna have another night like that when this is all over. Ok? I promise." Piper spoke as she pushed back El's brown hair.

El nodded her head and gripped tighter to Piper's hand before letting out another cry in pain. When Piper lifted her head she was met with Jonathan once again kneeling down in front of her.

"This is gonna hurt a lot." He spoke towards El before looking around towards everyone. "I'm gonna need your help holding her down."

Piper moved quickly to lift El up off her back, and having her lean against Piper. She wrapped her arms around the shaking girl to be as comforting as possible, as Mike moved to hold down her leg with the help of Lucas and Dustin. Max moved towards Piper side and held onto El's hand tightly. Jonathan pushed the pant let up higher, to expose more of her leg, before tightening his hold on her ankle. He looked up towards El with sympathetic eyes, before taking the knife in his hand and pressing it into her skin. El moved violently, as much as she could, as he cut through the skin.

"It's ok El. It's ok." Piper whispered softly, El screaming louder as Jonathan moved his fingers around to try and find whatever was beneath the skin.

"Jonathan! Get it out!" Nancy nearly screamed in panic as she watched him fail to bring out whatever was hurting El.

El pushed out of Piper's arms and sat up "Stop! Stop! I'll get it."

"Are you sure?" Jonathan asked as he looked up towards her.

El nodded her head. "I can do it."

Piper watched in horror as she heard the screaming coming out of El as she used her powers to pull out whatever had embedded into her skin. The scream had grown loud enough in volume that Piper

reached up to cover her ears. In a matter of moment El was able to pull out a small piece of something. Before she throw it across the mall, glass shattering around them as she fell back against Piper.

Everyone sat there stunned for a moment, before their attention was drawn towards the sound of a small shriek. When Piper looked up the relief and happiness that ran through her body couldn't even be fully described. It was like the fear that had been clenching at her chest was finally gone.

"Hopper." Piper whispered softly, as her Uncle rushed towards them. Joyce and another man following close behind.

Will rushed off towards his mom, as Hopper bent down and wrapped his arms around both Piper and El. Both girls gripped tightly to him as he whispered to them softly, saying how relieved and happy he was to see them both. Piper bit down on her lower lip to hold back her sob as Hopper pulled away to look at both of them.

"Hey, hey now. No crying." He reached and wiped the tear that fell down Piper's cheek. "I've got you now."

"I'm just so happy to see you." Piper spoke softly, before moving to bury her face back into the crook of his neck and her hand holding tightly to El.

* * *

_AN: The Star Court battle is probably within two chapters and I have decided what is going to happen. Some of you might be happy and the others might be mad or sad. But I have thought it through a couple times and it's the ending that I am most satisfied with. I do think after the "battle" there is going to be maybe two or so more chapters after that. So in all roughly five chapters are left in the story. Which makes me sad cause like I said before I'm attached to Piper. I think this is a story where I fully feel attached to the story and the character. Maybe my degree is finally kicking in and I'm now confident in my writing. Please leave a review with your thoughts. The next chapter is already written out and just needs to be edited. Stay safe!_


	25. Skylight

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

**Skylight**

Piper sighed softly as she sat with El across from her, and her leg placed into Piper's lap. Making sure that her wound was cleaned, disinfected and wrapped around once again. A few feet from her - Hopper, Joyce, Jonathan and the rest of the group were catching each other up on what had happened. With all the information being told she thought that her head was gonna explode. Between the Mind Flayer and the Russians, she didn't know which was worse at the moment. But Piper wanted to stay as far away from it, her brain needing rest for just a small moment from everything that was happening around her.

"Thank you, Piper." El spoke as she smiled slightly towards her.

"Of course." Piper slowly pulled El's pant leg down. "I'm always gonna have your back."

Piper reached up and gently caressed El's cheek before placing it gently down back in front of El. When Piper looked up she saw Steve running out of the mall with Robin and Dustin following behind him. Piper stood up from where she was sitting and turned towards the group as her Uncle walked up towards the two of them.

"What's going on? Why is Steve leaving?"

"Heading towards the field, it's all part of the plan. But I need you to worry about something else." Hopper answered, moving to sit down beside El and gently pulling Piper to sit down on his other side. "Now I'm going to be going to find this...machine that is opening the gate. And I wanna make sure that you both understand to stay safe." He turned his gaze towards El. "How are you feeling, kid?"

"I-I'm about about half right now. But I'll be ok." El looked up towards him with a slightly tired look on her eyes. "I'm a fighter."

"I know you are." He smiled before pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "And that's what I'm worried about. I want you to stay safe. From the sounds of it...this is a lot worse than the last time we faced up against this thing. We don't know what to expect. This thing is after you...not after me." He bent down slightly and caressed her cheek. "Please understand...and stay close to Piper." She nodded her head, before Hopper turned towards Piper. "And you...I need you to make sure she's safe."

"I will." Piper looked down slightly towards her lap.

"And I know that you will." Hopper spoke, causing Piper to look up towards him. "You have protected her when I couldn't and I know that you will do whatever needs to be done in order to make sure she's safe. But I also...I also want you to keep yourself safe." Hopper gripped Piper's hand tightly "Because it's already shown that it will use you to get to El. Which means you gotta watch your back too, kid."

Piper nodded her head before moving to hug her Uncle tightly, feeling El do the same on the other side. The three of them pulled away from each other and Hopper reached down to his wrist and pulled the small blue bracelet from around his wrist. Piper watched as he grabbed her wrist and placed it around hers. She couldn't help the small gasp from her lips, knowing how much this bracelet meant to her Uncle. It was her cousins. The one she's wear all the time – even during her fight with cancer – till she died.

"Uncle Hop..." Piper began to protest and shaking her head.

"No." Hopper shook his head and looked down towards it, before looking into her eyes and gently caressing her cheek. "I want you to have this. I lost Sarah. I lost your mom. Make sure I don't lose you both too."

"I-I won't." Piper bit her lip. "But what about you? I can't lose you too."

"I'll be ok. I love you, Piper." Hopper held her tightly and kissed her forehead. "I love you like you are my own daughter, and I never got to tell you that."

"Why does it sound like you're saying good bye?" Her eyes watered slightly as she pulled back to gaze up towards Hopper.

"I'm not." He took a deep breath "But I felt that you should know that, Piper. Cause I feel I don't tell you enough. Either of you. How much you mean to me."

Piper chuckled slightly and shook her head. "You don't have to Uncle Hop. We already know."

Hopper nodded his head and cleared his through slightly as he felt himself chocking up from the moment. "Take this," He handed a gun he'd take off one of the Russians and placed it into Piper's hand. "Just in case."

Piper kissed her Uncle cheek before standing from the small bench they all sat on. Piper placed the gun into the waistband of her shorts, before she wrapped her arm around El's middle to help her stand. They both smiled towards the man in front of them, before turning and following after Mike, Lucas, Will and Max.

* * *

Piper moved to place one arm beneath El's knees and the other around her back as she moved to carry her through the mall following behind Mike and the group. She followed behind them as they moved toward Joyce's car parked out front. Everyone eagerly climbed into the station wagon as Piper moved towards the back to place El inside so she'd have more room to lay down. Once Piper knew she was settled, she climbed in to sit beside her as Nancy tried to start the car. But no matter how much she tried it wouldn't start. The sound of the engine not turning causing a sickening feeling to drop into the pit of Piper, and everyone's, stomach.

"What's wrong?" Piper called from the back of the car leaning slightly over the back bench of the car.

"Hey...Will, didn't your mom just buy this car?" Lucas spoke up as Nancy tried a few more times to get the car started.

"Maybe it's out of gas? Or the lights were left on?" Piper shrugged her shoulders trying to think of possible answers.

"I don't think it's out of gas. Let's just...get out and see." Jonathan sighed as he opened the door.

Piper fell back into the seat beside El, and it wasn't long till a familiar sound met her ears. Piper's back straightened as the rev of a Camero filled the silence over the parking lot. Looking out the back window she was able to see the bright head lights of a car. And she knew exactly who it was.

"Guys...get back into the mall." Piper spoke, as she gently moved to El up from the position she was in. She felt a little guilt from moving her as El whimpered softly in pain.

The car revved over and over as a taunt towards them. Once out of the car Piper stood back and stared towards the car, knowing exactly who was behind it. Jonathan moved towards the back of the car and took El from Piper's arms before moving frantically towards the front entrance of the mall. Piper looked over her shoulder and saw that everyone was back inside, before following behind them.

"You've got to be _fucking _kidding me." Piper yelled as she slammed the door behind her, rushing behind the group as they moved back into the mall. She didn't know whether to scream, or to cry at the moment.

Jonathan placed El gently on one of the benches inside the mall courtyard, as Piper moved to grab a walkie off one of the Russians and placed it into Mike's hand.

"Call out to Dustin, let him know that Billy is outside the mall and knows where we are." She spoke before walking around towards the other bodies laid across the courtyard. "Nancy start looking for anything that'll help us. Preferably weapons."

"You aren't gonna kill him are you, Piper?" Max asked with a worried look on her face and in her tone.

"No. But we need to make sure we have protection." Piper bent down and grabbed another gun from the waist band of one of the bodies. "Because if Billy knows where we are. So does the Mind Flayer. I promised my Uncle that I'd keep you all safe and that's what I plan to do."

Piper stood up from kneeling on the ground and standing up straight as Jonathan moved towards her.

"What about the other car?" He spoke

"What other car?" Piper asked looking towards him. Jonathan turned slightly and pointed towards the car that was flipped over. "That can't drive."

"We don't need it to drive. We need the ignition cable to get my mom's started." He spoke quickly.

"Right...so we just gotta try and flip the damn thing." Piper sighed before calling everyone over towards them. Everyone moved towards the car and tried to grab it front any angle to try and flip it over. But to no avail it would move slightly before rocking back down.

"W-What if I tried?" El spoke from behind them.

"El you're already worn out. Half empty, remember?" Piper spoke over her shoulder towards El.

"I can do it." El spoke with determination.

"Alright. If you're sure?" Piper asked causing El to nod her head with determination in her eyes.

Piper moved away from the car slowly with everyone else, moving to stand behind her as she moved to pull the car back over onto it's wheels. El shook slightly as she used all her strength to move it. But it didn't even budge.

"El," Piper spoke tentatively as she moved onto her side. "Its ok. We'll find another way."

El sagged slightly and stumbled as she stopped. Piper wrapped her arms around her and moved her back towards the bench to sit down.

"I'm sure I can get it out with it on it's side." Jonathan spoke as he moved back towards the car.

Nancy followed Jonathan as they moved to figure out how to get the cable out. Piper sat down beside El and wrapped her arm around her, allowing the girl to rest against her side. They sat there for a moment, listening to Jonathan and Nancy, before the heavy sound of thumping could be heard from outside the mall – causing everyone to stop. It was loud enough that it made the walls shake . Piper's eyes slowly moved up towards the ceiling as she heard the sound travel up the mall and towards the sky light above their heads. Her eyes widened as once again the face of the Mind Flayer stared down towards them.

"Got it!" Jonathan spoke, oblivious to what was happening.

"Jonathan!" Piper screamed as she moved to pick El up from the bench and rushed up the stairs. "Run!"

Piper pushed her legs as hard as she could as the sound of the glass ceiling crashing down through the courtyard could be heard. The vibration of the Mind Flayer landing in the courtyard causing Piper's knees to buckle as she towards the counter at a resturant and slid behind it, Max and Mike following close behind her as a shriek could be heard. Piper pressed tightly to El as she held her, and pressing Mike as tightly to her side as possible. She couldn't help how her body shook as she heard it move through the mall. With each hard and heavy footstep her heart seemed to stop. Piper took a few deep breaths before shifting so she would have a better vantage point by looking over the counter.

"He's moving towards the south end." She whispered and moved back to sit beside El and Mike.

"Maybe we can make it up the stairs if we run?" El asked

Piper shook her head. "We won't make it."

"There's another way. We can make it through the Gap." Max whispered as she moved to gently pick up El. "You two go in front of me, go it?"

Max and Mike nodded their head before moving quickly towards the store that was to their right. She felt like her heart as in her throat as they pushed through the entrance, but it all stopped when she heard the crash of something to the floor. El's foot had knocked into a glass container causing it to drop to the floor. Piper dove in front of the first register counter she saw, and pressed their bodies against the cabinet. Piper's body pressed against theirs, as a shield, as they heard the Mind Flayer move closer and closer. Max and Mike gripped tightly to her arms as they heard it move through, throwing mannequins and other items to the floor. It knew they were there.

"Be quiet." Piper whispered softly.

Her eyes widened as one of the tentacles moved slowly past them, searching for them. Piper pressed hard against the three teens, waiting for the feeling of it's claws into her. But it never came. Instead it moved away quickly and out of the store.

"Move! Move!" Piper screamed as she pushed off the counter and once again grabbed El.

She prayed that the store was just like the theater and would have a back entrance.

* * *

Piper ran through the back hall of the mall, Jonathan and the rest of the group following along as they moved as far away from the Mind Flayer as they could. Her lungs burned with each breath as she carried El through the double doors and back towards the Byer's station wagon. Jonathan moved towards the front, the hood still propped open from before, to place the new ignition cable it. But everyone stopped short as once again the sound of the Camero revving came from across the parking lot. Piper set El down back onto her feet, motioning towards Mike to wrap his arms around El's waist, before grabbing the gun she'd placed into her waist band.

"Jonathan get the car started." She instructed before moving around the car. "Nancy you still have that gun?"

Piper looked towards the other side to Nancy and saw the girl nod her head. Piper moved towards the front of the car, the kids moving into it quickly as Jonathan worked to get it started, as both Nancy and Piper aimed towards the Camero.

"Aim for the wheels, any where but the drivers side." Piper spoke "Don't hit Billy."

Quickly the Camero started towards them and almost immediately both Nancy and Piper began to fire towards the car. With each pull of the trigger Piper was praying for the car to stop. _Come on Billy. Come on. _The car moved closer and closer, the brightness of the head lights nearly blinding them both, before suddenly it was gone. Piper gasped as, what seemed to be out of no where, a car collided with the side of Billy's. She stood their in shock as she watched both spin slightly, before stopping only a few feet away.

"Holy fuck. Steve?" Piper spoke and moved towards them, moving the gun back into her waist band before reaching to open the car. "Are you fucking crazy!"

"I could see that fucking thing from the hill." He spoke, his voice slightly dazed as he moved from the car. "I-I knew you needed help."

She sighed softly and hugged him tightly, catching him slightly by surprise before his arms wrapped around her. "Thank you."

Piper pulled away and looked towards where Billy's car rested and could see him slumped over towards the driver side of the car. She took one step towards him, her instinct to make sure he was ok. She moved towards the drivers side of his car and gently moved him off the door. Piper ran her fingers along his neck, searching for a pulse. Piper let out a heavy sigh of relief when she felt it.

"Oh thank god," She whispered before moving her hand to brush back his matted curls. His face was relaxed as blood slowly dripped from his forehead.

Piper moved to try and open his door before a shriek sounded causing her to stop. Piper turned to look over her shoulder and watched in horror as the Mind Flayer crawled up the building and onto the roof.

"Move! Move!" Steve spoke as he pulled on Piper's arm and towards the station wagon. She climbed into the back with Steven as Jonathan pulled away quickly.

Piper stared out towards the back window and watched in horror as the Mind Flayer chased after them.

* * *

_AN: Please leave a review. Hope you're enjoying it!_


	26. Promise

**Chapter Twenty Seven**

**Promise**

Piper reached over to Steve's hand and grasped it as tightly as she could as she watched the Mind Flayer chase after them. Thankfully Jonathan was driving faster than it could move, but that didn't stop her heart from pounding in her chest as she watched it. Beside her Robin was squeezed in and she could feel the girl slightly shaking with fear, her eyes glued towards the same monstrous figure behind them. Piper looked towards her for a moment, before reaching over and grabbing her hand as well. She knew what Robin was going through, she'd been through it herself last year. Robin's blue eyes shot down towards her. She tried to give a small smile but Piper saw past it and could see the fear clear in her eye's.

"We're gonna be ok." Piper spoke softly, but even as the words left her lips she didn't believe a single word. Robin couldn't find any words so she just nodded her head before turning her gaze back out the back window.

As the three sat huddled together in the back of Joyce Byers' station wagon, the soft sound of static came through the walkie in Steve's lap before Dustin's voice sounded through clearly. But along with his voice came another that wasn't recognizable at all to anyone in the car, well, anyone besides Robin and Steve. It was a girls voice.

"Suzie." Steve and Robin spoke in unison.

"Who in the hell is Suzie?" Piper spoke with confusion clear on her face.

"Dustin's girlfriend." Steve clarified. "She's supposed to know the code for the password into where Hop and Joyce are."

"Oh." Piper nodded her head, still not understanding what was going on. And that confusion became even more clear as all of a sudden Dustin was singing with the girl, known as Suzie, through the walkie system.

Everyone's eyes shot around to each other in confusion, and making sure with the other's they were all hearing the same thing. It was almost humorous with the situation that was going on as the Mind Flayer let out another shriek. Piper couldn't help but jump slightly. The singing cut off and everyone was met with silence before Suzie's voice spoke out through the system.

"Planck's constant is 6.62607004" She spoke and Piper could just imagine the smile on the girls face as she heard her voice.

"Any one else confused about what just happened?" Lucas spoke from the bench in front of Piper.

Everyone made a noise of agreeance and nodded their head as Jonathan pressed harder on the gas pedal. Piper sat up and for the first time since getting in the car looked towards the front, she counted how many people were in the car before her heart sank deep into her stomach.

"Where is El." She whispered lowly, but enough for Robin and Steve beside her to hear that she had said something.

"What?" Steve looked down towards her.

"Where the _fuck_ is El!" She screamed and rocketed her body to sit up more in the back seat of the car. There wasn't much room, but she sat up to look around the car. "Where the fuck is my sister!"

"She must be with Max and Mike." Lucas spoke.

"And no one thought to put her in the car?!" Piper screamed louder "I thought you all got in the car!?"

"Piper calm down." Steve reached forward to gently touch her shoulder, causing Piper to whip around towards him. Her face was red with anger as she stared towards him with wide eyes. Her eyes filling with unshed tears and Steve didn't know if it was from anger or fear for her sister.

"Calm!? You want me to calm down!? I promised my Uncle that I would keep her safe and now she's not with me and you want me to be calm?!"

"The Mind Flayer is chasing us, isn't that more safe for her to not be here?" Nancy spoke from the front seat of the car, turning in her seat to face towards Piper.

There was a moment of silence before Lucas spoke up. "Uh...guys...it's slowing down."

"Maybe it's worn out? Chasing us for too long?" Will spoke turning around in his seat to look out the back. Piper and everyone else beside her shifted to watch as the Mind Flayer began to slow down, no longer giving chase to the car.

"No. I don't think so." Piper shook her head. Her eyes widened as she saw it turn and head back towards the direction of the Star Court Mall. "Turn the car around! Now!"

Piper screamed loudly as Jonathan whipped the car around quickly and speeding back towards the direction they had come from. Piper closed her eyes and silently prayed to any god or being listening that El would be safe. _I failed her. I failed her_. Piper felt like her chest was gonna cave in and she knew that feeling wouldn't let up till her sister was back in her sights.

"Mike is gonna keep her safe, Piper." Steve tried to speak reassuring beside his friend.

"I won't forgive myself if something happens to her and I wasn't there to stop it." She shook her head. "Billy's there. And my guess he's the reason why that thing is turning around."

Piper took a few deep breaths to calm herself the closer and closer Jonathan got to the mall. They thankfully weren't too far since it was only moments before the Mall came back into her sights. She didn't even wait for the car to come to a complete stop as Jonathan pulled into the front parking lot of the mall. Steve and Robin were quick behind her as Piper stumbled towards the front. But she paused when something caught her eye. It was Billy's car, and it was empty.

* * *

Piper searched around the mall hoping for any sign of her sister, Mike, Max or even Billy. She turned the corner towards the center courtyard of the mall and stopped at the sight in front of her. It was her sister laying on the floor and Billy beside her. A million things were going through her mind as she watched the Mind Flayer descend from the broken skylight of the mall and towards El.

"Get that thing away from her!" Piper screamed as she grabbed the gun tucked into her shorts from earlier and quickly starting to fire towards the Mind Flayer. Catching it's attention as it screamed in pain and whipped it's arms around knocking down wall, structures and railing in the mall.

Piper moved along the side of the courtyard as she shot towards the Mind Flayer, moment later Lucas and the rest of the gang shooting the fireworks from the car towards the Mind Flayer. The fireworks stolen from the convenience store earlier were already a part of the plan. She watched in amazement as rockets of fireworks were aimed towards the Mind Flayer and exploding as they landed against it's back and sides. She pointed and aimed the gun towards the center head of the Mind Flayer, keeping her concentration just liked she did back at the cabin. For a moment she looked away towards where El was and could see her crawling away from Billy, and the Mind Flayer in general. Piper saw a small moment of hope before Billy started towards her again.

"No!" Piper screamed before moving towards Billy, throwing the gun to the side, and her legs pushing her closer and closer towards them.

But as she grew closer one of the Mind Flayer's arms came down, smacking her back against the wall beside her. She gasped painfully as the wind was knocked out of her lungs. Her head ringing slightly from the impact and the sound of the fireworks around her. The world has a slightly haze around it as she tried to move back onto her feet. She stumbled before falling back into the rubble of the mall. Piper looked up and could see Billy hovering over El. She was close. Piper closed her eyes for a moment before moving to stand again, gripping to the wall beside her for support.

"El!" Piper screamed. As she screamed Billy's head wiped around towards her. His face covered in black veins, his blonde curls matted to his face. But she could see his eyes and knew that _he_ was there. _Make him come back. _"El! Make him come back!" Piper screamed once more over the shriek of the Mind Flayer.

Piper watched with baited breath as Billy's head turned back towards El. She couldn't hear them and she took that as her chance to move. _I have to get to her. I have to. Push past the pain girl._ She repeated to herself over and over. Her vision was slightly hazy as she moved around the side of the courtyard. The explosion of the fireworks above suddenly were gone and all she could hear was the loud shrieks and screamed of the Mind Flayer. Piper stopped for a moment and watched as it reared back, gaining its strength back from the blows and hits before. And then it was like everything was moving in slow motion.

Piper turned her head back towards El, continuing to move towards her, and saw Billy standing in front of her. _This is my chance. Move faster!_ Piper bit down on her lower lip as she stumbled beside El. El jumped slightly as Piper stumbled and landed down beside her. El looked towards her older sister and saw her lip was cracked and stained with blood, along with blood falling down the side of her head.

"Piper." El whispered, but Piper quickly shook her head.

"Go! Go!" Piper pushed on El and looked over past her shoulder to see Mike and Max hovering in the door way of a shop. Piper rose her hand and pointed towards Mike, causing El's eyes to draw towards the direction she was pointing in. "Go. Now!"

El looked between the Mind Flayer and Piper and slowly started to scoot back. El expected Piper to move with her, but saw that Piper moved to block her away from the Mind Flayer, using herself as a shield. El shook her head and opened her mouth to protest, but Piper shook her head.

"Go" She spoke once more, before turning around to look over her shoulder.

Piper's frame started to shake slightly with fear as she nearly came face to face with the monster before her. She moved slightly onto her knees and watched as the mouth opened up and slowly the tentacle came out towards them. Piper opened her mouth to scream and waited for the pain of the sharp teeth sinking into her skin. But she instead was met with nothing, as Billy stepped in front of her and grabbed at it, raising both hands up.

"Billy!" Piper screamed in shock and fear as she watched him struggle, pushing back more on the Mind Flayer.

Piper used the little strength she has left to stand from the mall floor and towards Billy, looking over her shoulder only once to see El farther away and safe. Piper wrapped her arms around her boyfriends waist and pulled him as hard as she could down. Both their bodies smacking against the hard ceramic floor beneath them. She whimpered slightly and looked down towards him, for only a moment, before she felt a sharp pain through her side. Piper gasped and looked down to see one of the tentacles in her side. Another stabbed her on the other side causing her to scream louder, before she ripped away from Billy and thrown across the courtyard.

Piper was able to feel the impact as she landed against the stairs, she screamed loudly as she felt the pain shoot up her back and the blood on her lips as she coughed slightly. Her head lulled to the side and she watched as the Mind Flayer collapsed to the ground of the Star court. But none of that mattered to Piper as her eyes connected with Billy's as he moved towards her.

* * *

It was like he was snapped out of a dark dream. One moment he's screamed and begging for the life of the girl beneath him and the next he's able to control his body again. It was like at the warehouse, but different, this time Billy didn't feel the monster lingering in the back of his mind. _It was gone_. Billy looked down towards El and could see the relief in her eyes as she stared back up towards him.

"El." He whispered softly, the flashes of his mom and moments with Piper still in his mind. El nodded her head and caressed his face softly before he pulled away from lying above her.

Billy stood and looked towards the thing that had controlled his life for the past few weeks. No longer scared. Instead it was replaced with anger as he watched it scream in pain as each firework hit against it. From the corner of his eye, Billy was able to see Piper moved towards El behind him. He looked down towards her for a moment as she pushed her sister away. Billy knew he had to do everything in his power to help, now that he was free.

As he turned back towards the Mind Flayer Billy came face to face with it as it moved towards them. He didn't even know what he was doing, or what caused him to react how he did. But the moment Billy saw the mouth open up and the long tentacle move towards them, he reached forward. Using every bit of strength left in his body to keep it away from Piper and El behind him. He could hear the noise around him; the screaming, the calling, but he didn't waver his concentration. He could feel the strength of the Mind Flayer pushing back towards him. His head moved up and his eyes staring down the open mouth that seemed to move closer and closer towards his face.

Billy felt a weight wrap around his waist before he was pulled down towards the floor, his hands slipping away from the Mind Flayer and his back smacking hard against the mall floor. The air was knocked from his lungs as Piper feel on top of him. Billy groaned slightly as she moved to look down towards him. He felt a sense of relief as he stared back up towards her green eyes. The happiness in her gaze reflecting back. But the small moment of serene happiness only lasted for a seconds till her face twisted in pain and a terrorizing scream erupted from deep within her chest.

He looked down, looking for the source of her pain, before he saw the sharp tentacles of the Mind Flayer piercing her sides. Before Billy could even make a move to help her, she was ripped away from him and thrown towards the stairs of the courtyard. The ceramic steps crumbled slightly from the impact of her body. Billy payed no mind to the Mind Flayer behind him, collapsing to its death, as he moved quickly towards Piper. He could already feel the tears streaming down his cheeks as he crawled towards her, his body not seeming to move fast enough. Her body was bent at odd angles as she coughed up blood, her mouth opening and gasping for air as she stared towards him.

"Piper." He whimpered softly, his hands moving towards her before pulling away. He was afraid to touch her, afraid to cause more pain or damage. "Oh god."

"B-Billy..." She gasped and looked up towards him "El? W-Where's El?"

Billy looked up and saw El running towards him before she knelt down beside Piper. He watched as Piper's face relaxed as her eyes landed on El.

"We have to help her! We have to help her!" El spoke quickly in a sense of panic before her brown eyes turned towards Billy. "We have to help her."

Billy nodded his head and looked around to see everyone else running towards them. Their faces masked with shock and fear as they looked down towards Piper. Before Billy could even say anything towards them Piper let out a violent cough, causing his head to look back down towards her. The blood painted down her chin and down the side of her cheek.

"Hey...hold on for me baby. Hold on." Billy moved quickly and reached down to grasp her hand, turning over his shoulder to shout towards Jonathan. "Get help!"

Jonathan nodded his head, before grabbing Nancy and pulling her with him as he ran back towards the entrance of the mall. Piper squeezed Billy's hand with a small amount of strength pulling his attention back towards her.

"Why would you do that?" El cried

Piper gasped softly and moved her eyes towards El. "I-I promised...I promised." Piper groaned and closed her eyes tightly as she felt a pain rip through her body

"Shhh...shh...save your strength." Billy whispered as he gently moved the hair from her face. "I'm so sorry, Piper. Open your eyes...please...open your eyes."

Piper groaned before slowly opening her eyes to look towards him. "I-I love you, Billy."

"Don't do that." He shook his head. "Don't say goodbye."

Piper opened her mouth to speak again, but nothing came out. Around her everything started to slowly turn fuzzy. It was like she was slowly falling down a tunnel and everyone was moving farther and farther away. Around her she could her people talking, but it was muffled like it was deep beneath water. _Eye lids...so heavy_. She could feel her body shake again with another cough, the heavy feeling on her chest making it harder and harder to breath. Piper closed her eyes as everything around her slowly softened to silence.

_AN: So...two to three chapters are left till the end. Please leave your thoughts, I kept editing this chapter and hope you enjoyed it. Please leave your thoughts, I really do like knowing what you guys are thinking. Like, dislike extc. Also would you guys be interested in a StevexOC story. Been kinda thinking about one and Steve holds a soft spot in my heart. Stay Safe!_


	27. Serene

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

**Serene**

Serene. That's the only word that Piper could describe how she felt. It was like the moment she was enveloped in darkness everything seemed to stop and she felt safe. For the first time in weeks she felt safe and calm. Piper opened her eyes and was welcomed to her bedroom. But it wasn't her bedroom in Hawkins. No. She was back in Detroit. The far wall was decorated with photos of friend and family that she'd taken alone with pictures she'd drawn while in art class. Her face twisted in confusion as Piper stood from her old bed and looked around. _What the hell am I doing back here? _Piper took a few steps towards her door and opened it, once again the confusion seemed to increase as she stepped into the hallway. Everything looked like how she remembered. It had been nearly a year since she was last in this home but Piper would forever remember the house she grew up in.

By memory she followed down the hallway towards the stairs that lead down towards the front of the house. Soft sunlight came through the front windows as Piper moved through the house. Her fingers touching lightly to the surface of the hallway table decorated with a vase of fresh flowers, just like her mother kept up every week. Piper followed down the short hallway and turned towards the living room – stopping quickly in her steps when she looked towards the couch. Piper gasped lightly as she saw her mother sitting cross legged on the couch, a magazine in her lap. Her curly brown hair pulled tightly back into a bun as she wore her favorite lavender dress. Piper's soft gasp drawing her attention up towards the doorway.

"Mom." Piper whispered softly, quickly her green eyes watering as she stared towards her mother on the couch.

"Hi, sweetie." Kathy smiled, closing the magazine on her lap and uncrossing her legs. "You've been sleeping for a long time. How are you feeling?"

Piper's eyes stared widened towards her mother not being able to find words. The shock overtaking her body. Kathy chuckled softly before standing and walking towards Piper. Kathy gently caressed her daughter's face.

"You bumped your pretty hard." Kathy moved her hand away from Piper's face and looked her over quickly, before looking back towards her face. "Should I call the hospital?"

"I-I don't understand." Piper whispered softly, reaching to grab her mother's hand. It felt real as she held it tightly before bringing it towards her own chest. "Y-you're...I...Am I dead?"

Kathy laughed and shook her head as she moved her hand away. "No baby. You're not dead."

"How are you here?" Piper asked quickly, the shock starting to wear off.

"You brought me here, Piper." Kathy smiled

Piper watched her mother in confusion again as she smiled down towards her. Kathy stood there for a moment before walking past Piper and down the hallway towards, what Piper knew, lead to the kitchen. Piper stood there for only a moment before turning quickly and following after her mother. Kathy pushed swinging door and walked through, her daughter quick behind her.

"That still doesn't explain how I'm...here." Piper stopped in the doorway and watched as her mother moved around the kitchen like everything was normal.

"Well, baby. I told you that you hit your head pretty hard." Kathy paused as she moved about to make two mugs of tea. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Star Court Mall." Piper moved to take a sit at the breakfast nook table. Kathy turning towards her and setting a mug down in front of her. From the smell Piper was able to tell it was lemon tea, her mother's favorite. "I remember El...and Billy."

"Oh Billy." Kathy smiled before taking a small sip of her tea. "I like that boy."

Piper blushed slightly. "You do? Thought you'd think he was no good for me."

"He makes you happy, so how can I not like him?" Kathy's eyes softened as she stared towards Piper. "I wish I was able to meet him."

Piper's eyes started to water again "I wish you could've met him too, Mom. And Dad too. W-Where is he?"

Kathy shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, you only brought me here."

"I'm still confused." Piper whispered softly and grabbed her mug to take a sip.

"You need to make the decision if you wanna wake up." Kathy reached across and placed her manicured hand on to her daughter.

"Decision?"

"I can't make it for you. But I can tell you that there is a room full of people waiting for you to open your pretty green eyes." Kathy smiled "But it's up to you baby."

"And if I don't?" Piper asked

"Then you'll come with me, and you get to see your dad." She paused "But I think it would be a shame if you came with me. I don't think you're ready. I think you need to head back to your family."

"You're my family." Piper interrupted quickly.

"I am. But you know what I mean, Piper. That little girl needs you and so does Billy." Kathy tighten her hold on Piper's hand. "You didn't fight all this way to get him back and then to give up."

Piper nodded her head and looked towards her mother. Her smile just as warming, loving and caring as she remembered. The same green eyes shining back towards her. Piper was always told her she looked like her mother and right in this moment she was able to fully see it. Piper had her father's lips and nose, but everything else was Kathy Hopper.

"I love you, baby." Kathy spoke and smiled towards her "Now I think it's time that you woke up."

* * *

El sighed softly as she looked towards Piper once again, the frown on her face deepening, as nothing had changed. When El saw Piper's eyes close her heart sank and her body was overtaken with panic. She called her name over and over but no matter what Piper wouldn't open her eyes. Jonathan came running back as armed soldiers flooded the mall and quickly started to gather everyone from the mall. Two guards had to forcibly move Billy from Piper's side as they placed her gently onto a stretcher and towards an ambulance.

When El quickly followed behind everyone out of the mall she recognized a man standing in the parking lot over looking everything. It was the same man from Hawkins Lab. As everyone ran towards one another, such as Will to his mom, she searched the parking lot quickly for Hopper but didn't see a sign of him. But sadly the moment El's eye's connected with Joyce's she knew, deep in her heart, that she wasn't going to find Hopper. Her tears welled up quickly and cupped her hand over her mouth as she started to cry. Crying for the lose of not only Hopper, but also possibly, Piper.

The rhythmic beep of the heart monitor beside Piper was the only sound in the small room as she looked towards the other side of the bed to see Billy moving his thumb gently over a photo he held in his lip. She looked towards him for a moment before moving from her seat, walking around Piper's hospital bed, and sitting down beside her feet.

"What's that?" El spoke softly as she looked down towards him, Billy quickly turning his head towards the girl beside him.

El could see the tiredness in his eyes and a bit of something else that she wasn't quite able to place. Fear? Sorrow? A large cut placed at the top of his cheek bone, butterfly stitches at the top and bottom. Billy followed closely behind the two people that had taken Piper out of the mall and hopped into the ambulance with her. He sat on the small bench and watched as the two paramedic moved quickly to stop the bleeding and keep her stable enough to make it to the lab. He had never felt a panic as badly as he did when her heard the heart monitor flat line as the sped down the rode. It was a sound he was never going to get out his mind. He clasped his hands tightly together and dropped his head into his hands as he cried, praying to anything that would listen, to keep her alive.

"Uh, photo of us," Billy spoke before moving to show El.

El smiled as she saw it was the photo Piper had taken from Billy's room. She looked up towards Piper and sighed with heavy defeat. Billy frowned and placed the photo into his pocket.

"Do you think she will wake up?" El asked softly, her eyes downcast towards her lap, nervously fidgeting with the hospital blanket she sat on.

Billy shrugged and shook his head. "I don't know, El. I don't know. I sure hoping that she does. If anyone was supposed to survive this it should've been Piper. And Hopper."

El looked up towards Billy more and could see the conflict on his face. "I-I...I wanna thank you, Billy."

He quickly looked towards her. "F-For what?"

"For saving me." She smiled towards him slightly. "I mean you came back and saved me from being killed by the Mind Flayer. T-that means a lot. I know Piper would be thanking you too if she could."

"I know how much you mean to her, and I couldn't let that...thing have you." Billy paused and shifted more towards El. "I watched helplessly as other's were hurt and killed because of that thing. I wasn't going to have you be one of them too." Billy stopped and looked towards her. "How did you know...about my mom. The wave."

El bit her lip "There's a lot...a lot we have to catch you up on, Billy."

"I figured." Billy chuckled dryly "I got a bit of it. That thing shared it's thoughts with me. So I...saw...whatever it was mad at you about. I saw Piper too. I'm guessing that has some of what you have to explain?"

El nodded her head "It's better if we all do it together.

"Well I should be thanking you as well, El, cause without you I don't know what would've happened."

El reached down and placed her hand on top of Billy's and gently smiled towards him, both of them coming to a understanding between each other.

* * *

Billy held tightly to Piper's hand as he looked up towards her, his eyes never leaving her bruised face. It has been four days since the events at Star Court Mall and with each day his hope of Piper waking dims. Also during those four days he learned more and more from other's about everything – from the moment El had arrived at Hawkins all the way to four days ago. Billy felt like he was still processing everything and his mind was still running and mulling over the information he was told. Every day people came and stopped by and sat with him and El as they waited for any update on Piper's condition. Whenever he stepped out of the room for the doctors to check her vitals he always hoped there would be some form of positive change. There wasn't any change, but it was better than her turning for the worse. Billy had only left once to clean up from the events and found himself coming right back to her side. He wasn't gonna leave her. Not after everything that had been through.

"Man, have you even moved or eaten?" Billy looked towards the door to see Steve walk through the door, two to-go cups of what Billy was hoping was coffee.

"The food in the cafeteria but ya know...not exactly appetizing." He answered as Steve walked towards him and handed him the extra cup. Billy eagerly took a sip of the caffeinated beverage.

"Yeah this lab is equipped with everything but good food." Steve grabbed the extra chair and pulled it beside Billy. "How is she?"

"Same." Billy frowned taking another sip.

The two sat in silence for a moment before Steve cleared his throat.

"How are you doing?" Billy looked towards him confused "I mean...we've all be so focused on her and Hopper missing that I don't think any of us have stopped to think and ask you how you're doing."

Billy shrugged nonchalantly "I don't really have words for how I feel. Everything still feels like a dream."

"Yeah." Steve chuckle and nodded his head "I can see that. And I could say that I relate...I don't. Because none of us have been possessed by the Mind Flayer except for Will. If you need someone to relate to...to talk...it would be him."

"I'll think about that." Billy spoke up "Thanks."

"You're welcome, man." Steve patted his shoulder "I know we never got along in the past, but right now, you're good in my book Hargrove."

Billy nodded his head in agreeance "You're good to me too, man. You took care of Piper when I couldn't. I could see that when...you know...and I appreciate that."

"You don't have to thank me. She's my friend and I'm always going to have her back no matter what." Steve finished off his coffee before continuing. "She wasn't worried about anyone but you and El. That's all she was focused on. And if we both know anything thing, it's that Piper is a fighter and just needs time till she wakes up."

"I couldn't agree with you on anything more." Billy smiled and looked back towards Steve.

Piper first felt like she couldn't breath as slowly her senses started to come back to her. First she was able to hear the conversation happening before her, then came the feeling of the tight binding around her ribs and the itchy fabric beneath her. Her eyes opened slowly a few times before she was staring up towards the tiled ceiling of the room that she was in. Steve and Billy were engrossed in their conversation they didn't noticed Piper's eyes opening or the slightly spike in her heart monitor as she began to wake. She shifted slightly and let out a soft noise making them both stop and quickly turn towards her. Both of their eyes wide in shock and mouths left slightly agape.

"Am I dreaming or are Billy Hargrove and Steve Harrington actually having a civil conversation." she spoke with her voice breaking slightly from the dryness in her throat.

"Canon, holy fuck!" Steve spoke first, jumping up from his chair and running his fingers through his hair as Billy continued to sit in shock

"Where am I?" Piper looked around confused for a moment as she looked around the dimly lit room she was in.

"Get the doctor guy." Billy spoke as he slowly rose up from his seat and stared down towards Piper as she continued to look around confused. Steve nodded his head before quickly walking out of the room.

Billy slowly and tentatively walked towards Piper as she rested back against the pillow behind her and closed her eyes, only for a moment, before opening them again.

"Billy..." She spoke softly, her voice no higher than a whisper.

He moved towards her and gently caressed her forehead, pushing her hair from her forehead, before kissing it gently. Billy's eyes watered as he pulled back and looked down towards her. She stared back up towards him and took a deep breath before shakily moving her hand towards his that was placed at her side.

* * *

Billy waited anxiously outside the door as the doctors checked over Piper and make sure that she was ok before allowing anyone back in. He watched impatiently as the clock ticked by slowly. It was a slow twenty minutes before Doctor Owens walked out of the door and looked towards him and Steve that sat on the bench beside Billy.

"How is she, Doc?" Billy asked anxiously and pushed off from the door.

"We're gonna keep her here a few more days but other than that she is showing good vital signs. The stitching on her sides are still good and clean." Dr. Owens spoke as he looked over the notes on his clipboard. "She's asking for you." He pointed towards Billy.

Billy nodded and gave a quick glance towards Steve before moving around the Doctor and back into the room. Piper was rested against the back of the hospital bed. Her eyes closed and for a moment and Billy would've thought that she was asleep again, till her eyes opened as he got closer to the bed. He reached quickly and grabbed her hand and brought the back of her hand to his lips and kissed it gently.

"God I'm so happy you're awake." He smiled towards her and sniffled as he fought back tears

"I'm happy you're ok." Piper spoke softly her voice still hoarse and raspy. Billy chuckled and shook his head as he held their hands on his lap. "H-How long have I been out?"

"Four, almost five, days." Billy answered "Steve already made the round of phone calls and everyone's on their way to come and see you. El was here earlier but she was tired."

Piper hummed softly and pulled on his arm towards her more "You're too far away. I finally got you back. I need to feel you closer."

Billy moved up the bed more and sat down beside her resting more towards her as she reached a hand up to caress his cheek. His eyes closed slowly from her touch, her thumb rubbing against the skin, before his blue eyes opened.

"I thought I lost you." Billy whispered, a tear slowly moving down his cheek, as her hand moved to grip his wrist loosely.

"I'm here. I'm right here." Piper leaned forward slightly as she motioned to pull him closer. "I'm right here."

Billy leaned forward and kissed her lips softly before wrapping his arm around her and holding her.

She sighed softly "Mmm, I'm tired."

"Get some sleep." Billy whispered as he moved so she would be more comfortable, but Piper whimpered softly and gripped tighter to his wrist. "What, angel."

"Stay with me. Please." She shifted slightly in her bed, patting down beside her. "Please."

Billy nodded his head and moved to remove his sneakers before getting into bed beside her and laying down beside her, staying cautious of the IV's and her stitches.

"Hold me, Billy." Piper spoke as she closed her eyes and whimpered softly.

"Baby you're stitches"

"I don't care. I want to feel your arms around me." She yawned and moved closer towards Billy, before he moved towards her more and placed a arm across her frame, pulling her closer to his side.

Piper was fast asleep before her head even rested against Billy's shoulder, nuzzling into his neck in her sleep. Billy looked down towards her and gently moved his fingers through her hair as she slept, every once and a while placing a soft kiss to her forehead. Billy laid with Piper for a while till the door to her room opened and one by one everyone walked into her room with wide smiles on their faces. Lucas and Dustin holding balloons that said _"get well soon"_ with arrange of other colored balloons. El was the last to walk in, Joyce tightly behind her, but stopped when she saw that Piper was sleeping.

"I thought she was ok?" El asked with a confused glance up towards Joyce.

"She just fell back asleep." Billy whispered before shifting slightly to remove himself from her side. She whimpered softly before falling deeper into sleep. He tucked the blanket around her after standing back up.

"Well, we'll wait till she wakes up." Joyce spoke as everyone moved to take seat around the room. Jonathan setting a small bouquet of flowers on the small table at her bed side.

Billy took the seat back down at the side of her bed - grabbing and holding her hand as she slept. El moved towards the bed and moved onto the end of the bed and looked between Billy and Joyce before settling finally on Joyce.

"H-How do we tell her about Hop?" She whispered softly.

* * *

_AN: Thank you so much for all the reviews, feedback and love that you guys have showed for this story. I didn't think anyone would read this story when I first posted and I have been proven wrong. I have grown very attached to this story and Piper. You guys have made me feel like you guys have well and I really enjoy that review from my readers. I have thought about it and I am going to write a StevexOC story and have started thinking of the outline. The SAH order has been pushed more in my state so I have been thinking of stories a lot lately and my degree courses have helped as well. Please leave a review! I really do appreciate them. _


	28. Over Thinker

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

**Over Thinker**

Piper sighed heavily as she finished folding her clothes into the box that rest on the small bed that had been hers over the last few months. She looked around at the bare walls and sighed heavily, before moving to close up the box. She bit her lip and fought back the tears that rushed to her eyes as she thought for the one hundredth time about leaving. With a shaky breath she picked up the box and walked towards the truck that sat in the driveway and passed it off to Billy, before he set it down. He quickly jumped down from inside before pulling down the door and latching it shut.

"That the last of it?" He asked looking towards her, his hand reaching up to wipe the tear and ran down her cheek as she nodded her head slightly. "I don't like seeing you cry, doll."

"I can't help it." Piper spoke, her voice breaking towards the end before she took a deep and shaky sigh.

The sound of steps behind her drew her attention and she turned to see El walked towards her with tears gently running down her cheeks. Piper stepped back from Billy and moved to wrap her arms around El. The girl tucked her face into the crook of Piper's neck as she let out a cry. Around her everyone moved to help the Byer's pack up their house into two separate trucks. One for the Byer's and El as they moved away to their new home. And another for Piper as she packed to head to California with Billy. As much as Hawkins had become home to Piper over the last few months, now that Hopper was gone, it felt like a haunting reminder.

Piper remembers the moment Joyce told her of her Uncle's disappearance like it was still a violent nightmare she waking up from. Never did she think that after everything that happened at Star Court she would walk away without her Uncle. The man that had been her parent for the last her. She was so focused on making sure that El and Billy were safe, that the thought of anyone else possibly getting hurt didn't even enter her mind. When Piper woke up after a nap, she smiled when saw everyone standing around her, feeling the love from every single person. But it didn't take long for her to notice Hopper was missing.

The minute the smile fell from her face the pit in Billy's stomach sunk deeper and made him feel sick. Her emerald eyes looked between everyone in the room, filled with confusion, as the fateful question left her lips. _"Where is Hop?"._ The room fell silent and everyone would look anywhere but towards Piper. Her hands fidgeted nervously with the blanket that was draped across her lap and her eyes began to fill with tears, her mind racing with every possibility of where her Uncle was. Joyce spoke softly, asking everyone to leave the room, everyone besides El and Billy. Billy reached down and grasped her hand tightly and wrapped his arm around as she began to shake slightly. The minute the words left Joyce Byers lips all Piper could hear was white nose and see her lips moving. _"Sweetie, Hopper isn't coming."_. Joyce didn't have to elaborate on what exactly she meant. Because Piper knew that no matter what Jim Hopper would have been there for her, unless he wasn't able to. The fact that they didn't have a body to bury hurt even more – it was a ever present mystery on exactly where he was.

It took nearly two weeks before everything hit her. She was sitting in the room she shared with El at the Byer's. Piper didn't even realize she was crying till Jonathan walked into the room and spoke to her. She looked up towards him with tears streaming down her cheeks, eye bloodshot, and with a simple glance she fell apart. Jonathan rushed towards her and knelt down between her legs, gathered her in his arms, and held his friend as she cried. Her body shook violently with sobs for hours before finally calming down to small whimpers. Thankfully she was able to have this moment with Jonathan with no one else home, letting her have a sense of privacy.

"Are you sure I can't come with you?" El cried, before pulling away and looking down towards Piper.

Piper nodded her head. "As much as I hate it, kid. Being with Joyce is the best. But I'm going to be only a phone call away. And I promise for Thanksgiving and Christmas we'll come and stay with you guys."

"That's so far away." El pouted and looked down between them.

"You're always welcome to come and see us," Billy spoke from behind Piper, taking the small step forward to stand beside her. "You'll love the beach and we can take you to the pier."

El smiled slightly as she looked towards Billy. He couldn't help but smile towards her. "I'd like that. Spend the summer's with you two?"

"Now that would be amazing." Piper reached down and caressed El's cheek before bending down and kissing her lips softly. "Now let's finish this up? I'm sure Joyce wants to leave soon."

El nodded her head and walked back towards the house as Jonathan and Steve walked out with two boxes in their arms. Piper walked through the door of the empty house and frowned as the signs of a loved started to lessen and lessen. She walked into the back bedroom she shared with El and looked around, double checking, to make sure that everything gone. Piper walked towards the closet and opened the door quickly, looking down along the floor and up towards the shelf, stopping when she spotted a box sitting towards the back corner. A small frown pulled on her lips as she reached and grabbed it quickly. Piper honestly couldn't remember everything that she grabbed from the cabin when her and El moved out. Her mind was still in a cloud filled haze of grief that she just grabbed and packed without thought. Her hands ghosted over the floral printed top of the box that had her name written across it. Piper walked towards the corner of the room where a crate was flipped and took a seat, quickly opening it, seeing it was filled with photos, letters and keepsakes.

Her heart stopped when she noticed a photo of her with Hopper and El sitting on the couch at the cabin. Her lips quivered slightly as she gently picked it up and looked at it. She stared at it for a moment before flipping it over towards it back to see Hopper's hand writing across the back. It was sloppy, but it was his. _"Christmas Day with my two girls"_. A small laughed bubbled out of her chest as she flipped it back over to look at her Uncles face. Piper didn't know how long she sat there till a soft knock sounded from the door, when she looked up, Joyce stood in the door way with a somber look on her face.

"Hey, sweetie." She spoke before walking towards the teenage girl "I-I was wondering if you wanted this?" Tightly in Joyce's grasp was her Uncle's sheriffs shirt. Piper nodded quickly and reached her hand out.

Joyce walked towards her and placed it gently into her hands, Piper letting out a shaky breath before she brought it towards her nose and took a deep breath._ It still smells like him,_ cigarette's and a hint of cologne. Joyce couldn't help the tears that came to her eyes as she watched Piper, seeing her fold slightly into the shirt and hold it, before pulling it away.

"He loved you." Joyce spoke, causing Piper to look up towards her. "I remember the moment he learned that he was going to be taking you in a-after your parents died. He was so scared. Kept saying he didn't know how to take care of a kid, let along a teenage girl, but he was also excited. Because he loved you so so much. He would talk about you all the time whenever he could, and I think he knew deep down that you'd move with Billy to California. You know...before this all happened, and he was scared of that as well. Because he didn't want to lose you."

"He never would have." Piper spoke in a almost defensive tone.

"I know that, but you know how Hop is." Joyce chuckled slightly "He was a over thinker and that sometimes got the best of him."

Piper nodded her head and reached up to wipe the last few tears that were on her cheeks. "Yeah he was. But I sort of loved that about him." Piper paused for a moment. "I miss him so much."

"I know, sweetie. I do too." Joyce sighed softly before reaching over to grasp Piper's hand. "And I want you to know that you're more than welcome to come and see us whenever you want to. You're family."

"Thank you. And I know that you will, but please...take care of El?" Piper asked causing Joyce to nod her head quickly.

* * *

The last of the house packed away in the trucks and all that was left was the goodbyes. The moment Jonathan closed and locked the last truck, everyone rushed towards each other as they hugged, kissed and cried through their goodbyes. Piper cried the hardest as she said goodbye to El, as was expected, each saving the other for last. Standing in the driveway, crying, and seeming to never let the other go. Piper pulled back and caressed El's cheek before bending down slightly to be eye to eye with her.

"I love you." Piper's voice cracked slightly before reaching down and gently touching the blue bracelet that donned her wrist. She fiddled with it for a moment before gently taking it off and grabbing El's hand. "I want you to have this, to remember not only me. But Hopper too."

El nodded her head and cried harder, not able to really form words. Once the bracelet was secure around her wrist, she wrapped her arms around Piper and buried her face into the older girls chest. They stood there for a moment longer before stepped apart and walking towards their respected trucks. Piper rushed towards the truck and quickly climbed into the passenger seat of the movers truck, quickly looking over towards Billy.

"You ready, baby?" He spoke towards her, reaching over and grabbing her hand after starting the truck. His thumb rubbing gently over the back of her hand.

Piper sniffled slightly and nodded her head. "I'm ready for our future."

* * *

**AN: Thank you so much for reading my story, I hope you enjoyed it. I plan to continue Billy and Piper's story once Season 4 comes out. So keep an eye out for that. I am back to work now, but still plan on writing a Steve & OC story, I have already started planning. Please leave a review with your thoughts. I really do enjoy them. **


	29. Mini Chapter: The Beach

**Mini Chapters**

**Chapter One: The Beach**

Piper placed her book down into the tote bag that sat at her feet, before her emerald eyes scanned over the ocean. The moment she spotted him she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. Billy seemed to move through the water, nearly, effortlessly. There were a few other surfers out on the water, along with families and other groups playing in the water. Billy shook his wet curls out of his face, before grabbing his board and making his way out of the water. When he got closer to Piper he stuck his board into the sand before walking towards her. Even with sunglasses on he knew that her eyes were scanning him up and down.

It had been seven months since the two had moved to California, settling in a small apartment in Malibu and making a life together. Billy worked as a mechanic at a shop not too far from their apartment, while Piper worked at a Ice Cream Shoppe off the pier. She couldn't help that every time she went into work she remembered Steve and Robin. Things weren't perfect, and there were times where they struggled, but Piper wouldn't deny that she was happier. It was still hard being away from Hawkins, her friends and most of all El. But she knew that it was for the better that they were out in California.

Piper pushed up her sunglasses towards the top of her head before looking back up towards Billy. He moved quickly to grab the towel off the beach chair that sat in the sand beside her.

"When are you going to come and join me out in the water, doll?" Billy asked as he reached into their shared beach bag and grabbed a pack of cigarettes.

"It will be a cold day in hell before I let you teach me how to surf." Piper chuckled and shook her head, her eyes staying on Billy as he lit a cigarette. "You know you should really quit."

Billy rolled his eyes as he plucked the cigarette from his lips by using his thumb and middle finger. "I know. I know, just can't seem to. Works got me stressed."

Piper nodded her head and sighed softly "Everything will work out, Billy. We always end up making it, even it's by the skin of our teeth."

"I know." He moved to take the seat beside her and took another drag before blowing the smoke out. "I just hate that this is how it is. I thought things would be easier when we got out here."

"We wake up every day to the sound of waves hitting the beach." Piper spoke and leaned back more against her chair.

"With barely any food in the fridge and bills piling up." Billy countered

"Billy." Piper's voice was more stern, but still caring, causing Billy to relax back into his chair. "Everything will be ok."

Piper reached across and grabbing Billy's hand before kissing the back of it. She released it softly before plopping her sunglasses back onto her nose.

"Now go back and surf, release some tension, and give me a show." Piper smirked towards him.

Billy laughed before moving to stand up, taking a small step towards her, and bending down to kiss her lips softly. She hummed against his lips before he pulled away, walking towards his board and picking it out of the sand. Piper reaching back down into her bag and pulled out a water and took a drink as Billy paddled back out towards the water.

* * *

Piper sighed softly as she laid in bed with her eyes closed. From outside she could hear the birds chirping, the waves hitting the sand at the beach across the street, and felt the soft touch of Billy's touch. From the touch she could tell that it was his fingertips moving against the side and his face was nuzzled into her neck. A small whimper sounded as she felt his lips gently move along her check causing her skin to break out in goosebumps. A deep small laugh from Billy made his chest vibrate against her back.

"I know you're awake, doll." He spoke in her ear, his voice deep and thick from sleep making her believe he hadn't woke up too long before her.

"I was enjoying this a little too much." Piper spoke with her eyes staying closed as his fingers moved against her skin more. Piper stiffened slightly as she felt his fingers move over the scars right at her waist. She quickly moved to roll over and face him - her eyes opening and looking up towards him.

Billy knew that she was still struggling with what happened at Star Court Mall. He'd be lying if he said that he wasn't either. But Piper had changed that night. Nightmares gripped her conscious on some nights and had the constant reminder of the scars from the Mindflayer. Her scars were physical, his were mental.

"You wanna talk about it?" He whispered softly as his hand moved up to caress her cheek softly.

She shook her head. "Nothing to talk about."

"You had a nightmare last night, Piper. You were calling out for Hopper." He sighed softly. Piper adverted her eyes away from his and move to play with the St. Micheal necklace that hung around his neck. "You have me talk when I have them, you need to talk too."

"I'm fine."

Billy groaned slightly, he didn't wanna push her, but he also didn't want her to suffer alone. "Piper."

"Please, don't."

Piper moved away from Billy and stood from their bed, grabbing his shirt from the floor and throwing it over her naked body. Billy watched from the bed as she walked towards the drawers and grabbed a clean pair of underwear. Her curly hair fell down her back before she grabbed a hair tie and pulled it away from her face. Piper walked out of the room and headed towards the small kitchen that was tucked towards the back of their apartment and quickly began to make breakfast and coffee for the both of them. Billy gave her a moment to herself before getting out of bed and slipping on a pair of boxers.

Billy watched from the archway that was between the living room, if that what's you'd call it since it was so small, and the kitchen. The sun light came through the window casting the worn down kitchen in a soft warm light. Her back was towards him as she moved back and forth between making coffee and cooking breakfast. The two didn't have much for Piper to work with as she made bacon and eggs to go with the coffee.

"I don't want you to be mad at me. I'm just looking out for you." Billy spoke softly, causing her to stop, but not turn towards him. "I hate seeing you in pain. I know what you're going through and I'm here."

"I-I know, Billy." Piper sighed before turning off the burners and then around to face him. "I just...I just don't know what to say in order to express how I'm feeling."

Billy nodded his head and walked towards her slowly. "Why not try?"

Piper sighed and wrapped her arms around herself as Billy stood in front of her. "I miss him. So much." Billy knew immediately she was talking about Hopper. "When I miss El at least I'm able to call and talk to her. But with Hop, I can't do that." She paused and bit down on her lower lip before continuing "We never got a body, Billy. I didn't even get to say goodbye."

Billy stepped forward, closing the gap between them, before wrapping her in his arms. Piper let out a soft cry as she wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly. His fingers threaded through her hair as he cradled it. Billy didn't know how long the two of them stood there in their apartment kitchen, but he knew that no matter what, he'd hold her for as long as she needed.

* * *

Piper tabbed anxiously against her knees as she sat in the back of a cab, Billy sitting next to her, and watching the snow fall gently from the sky out the car window. Even though it's been nearly eight months since she moved to California she nearly forgot about the snow and seasons changing. It seemed the only weather on the west coast was sunny and hot. The cab pulled up in front of the small house that sat in the middle of the street but both Billy and Piper got out of the back. Bags were grabbed from the back of the cab quickly before the couple walked towards the door. They were barely up the front path before the door flew open and people rushed out. Piper dropped her bag and moved as quickly as the snow path allowed before she collided with El. The happiness that rushed through both their bodies as they were able to finally hug after months couldn't be fully described.

"Oh my god I've missed you!" Piper laughed and pulled back away to fully look down towards El. "Have you grown? I swear you're taller."

"Maybe." El smiled up towards Piper. "You have a ring?" El reached up touched Piper's nose towards the hoop that was through her left nostril.

"I do." Piper caressed her face as Billy moved up behind her now holding both their bags. He smiled down towards El.

"Hey, kid. How are you doing"

"Billy!"

El moved towards Billy quickly and awkwardly hugged him, his inability to hug back due to his arms being full. Piper moved to help carry the bags into the Byers's home before moving to quickly greet Joyce, Jonathan and Will. Piper felt a sense of comfort as she was quickly surrounded by familiar faces – ones that she deeply missed over the last few months. El grabbed Billy's hand and pulled him towards the back of the house to show off a new comic book she'd received. That being a new thing she was into thanks to Max, and now with Billy too. While Jonathan helped Piper carry the bags up towards the guest room.

"Your hair is longer." Piper reached up to mess with Jonathan's hair, causing him to laugh and dodged out of her way of reach.

"I'm not the only one that's changed." Jonathan looked down towards her. "California looks good on you."

Piper's hair was curlier, longer and has lighter strains through it now thanks to the California sun. Her skin was deeper and held a golden tone, thanks for her father's Native American heritage, and she had more and more freckles now, thanks to her mother's Irish heritage. Besides the nose ring that was now through her nostril she also had a few more ear piercings as well. Billy didn't change much, except for having tanned skin as well, and a few more tattoos added to the skull on his shoulder. But the Byers's and El looked exactly the same, nearly, and that was something that was extremely comforting for Piper at the moment.

"You gotta come out there in the summer." Piper crossed her arms at her chest "The beach near our apartment is so beautiful. And the photos I've been taking have been amazing, I'm sure you'd get some good shots too."

"I'm gonna take you up on that." Jonathan took a seat on the end of the bed in the spare bedroom Billy and Piper were going to sleep in for their stay.

Piper and Jonathan sat in a comfortable silence before she spoke "I missed you, guys."

"We missed you too." Jonathan spoke softly "Glad you two are staying till after New Years. I don't think Christmas would've been enough."

Piper nodded her head. "Me too." She paused and walked over to take a seat beside him. "Is it weird now that you and Billy are...friends."

Jonathan thought for a moment before talking "No. Actually. Once we got past him being an ass, he's pretty cool"

"It's weird for me still." Piper spoke and made a face before turning towards Jonathan. "I never thought we'd get to this point, after everything, but I'm happy that we are."

Jonathan wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Me too."

_AN: I decided to write some little one shots about moments of Billy and Piper after they left Hawkins and even maybe a few moments that popped into my head about what would've been before the story ended. Also still attached to Billy and Piper, they are my fave. I don't know what the next upload will be, since I'm in the middle of moving, but keep an eye out! Hope you enjoyed please leave a review if you can._


	30. Mini Chapter: Test

**Mini Chapters**

**Chapter Two: Test**

Piper paced back in forth in the small bathroom of the apartment that she shared with Billy. Her feet smacking against the faded yellow linoleum flooring as she anxiously bit along her fingernails. Piper was trying to steady her heart as she had an internal panic attack. She couldn't believe that this was happening and secretly she was happy that Billy was working late at the shop. The loud blare of the kitchen timer caused her to jump slightly before rushing over and turning it off. She stood there in silence for a moment, before taking a few deep breaths, and walking back into the bathroom. Piper stared down at the plastic test that seemed to stare back up towards her. One line. Her knees buckled as relief shot through her body. _Oh thank god._

Piper wanted to be a mom one day and she would be over joyed if Billy was the father. They were in a good place and she couldn't be happier with how things were going with them. But the last thing that they needed right now was a baby on the way. They were still struggling to make ends meet in California and a baby would just make it even worse. Her hand moved to cup over her mouth as she let out a small noise that could only be described of happy relief. Piper stood there for a few moments more before gathering the test from the counter and throwing it into the small basket in the bathroom. She turned on the faucet and washed her hands and face before walking back into the living room. The apartment windows were cracked open letting a soft breeze pass through the house.

Now that the worry and dread of a possibly unwanted pregnancy lift from Piper's shoulders. No longer did she feel like that was a heavy weight on her shoulder. Again it wasn't that she didn't want to be a mother, but right now wasn't the correct time, and deep down she knew that. Piper opened up the fridge and grabbed a few things to make a late night dinner for herself and Billy if he was hungry when he came home. Her bare legs exposed due to the over-sized tshirt she was wearing. It was one of Billy's Posion t-shirts that she liked to wear since it smelled exactly him. His musky cologne and cigarettes.

Piper turned on the radio half way through cooking dinner – music blaring through the speakers loud enough she was sure people down on the street were able to hear. She danced slightly along to the heavy rock music, plating the pasta she had made, before turning back towards the fridge for a beer. But she stopped short and let out a small scream when she spotted Billy leaning against the door way of the kitchen. His arms across at his chest and a smirk on his face as he looked back towards her. He must've just walked through the door since he was wearing his work overalls, the top half unzipped and left hanging on his waist, and his red tank left exposed. Piper reached towards the radio on the counter and turned down the music, now able to hear Billy's soft chuckle as he walked towards her.

"Having fun?" Billy moved towards her before bending down and kissing her lips.

Billy's eyes scanned down over her body, biting down on his lower lip, before his eyes moved back up towards her eyes.

"Yeah," Piper breathed softly before moving back to kiss his lips and moving her arms around his neck. "How was work?"

"Chad was a ass per usual, but other than that it was perfectly fine." Billy shrugged his shoulder before stepping back and walking further into the kitchen. "Mm, it smells so good."

"Thought about having a little late night dinner." Piper shrugged her shoulder continuing towards the fridge and grabbing a beer from inside. She opened and took a long drink before grabbing her bowl of pasta. "Clean up and join me in the living room? Maybe watch a movie?"

Billy took a bite from the pot on the stove before nodding his head and walking towards the back. He stripped quickly out of his work clothes before heading into the bathroom to take a shower. He jumped in, washed up, and stepped out. Billy grabbed his towel from the counter and started to dry off and wrap the towel around his waist. He began to brush back his dirty blonde curls from his face when something caught his eyes. Billy looked down towards the waste basket that sat beside the sink and saw the box peaking out. Pregnancy test. His stomach lurched into his throat and the entire world around him stopped. His brain wasn't able to think the moment his blue eyes locked onto the box.

"Billy! Come on, food is getting cold!" Piper called from the living room causing him snap out of his mind set.

He didn't even reach into the basket to find the text to see the results, he needed to hear them from Piper. Billy held tightly to the towel around his waist, making sure it was secure, before walking into the living room. Piper heard him walking towards her and half expected him to be all dressed and quickly come and join her. But instead she came face to face with a very angry looking Billy Hargrove.

"What's wrong?" She spoke quickly, trying to think of what she could've done to make him so angry. His face was red and thought for a moment she was gonna see steam come out of his ears.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He spoke with his voice deep and even as he spoke. Piper grabbed the remote and turned off the volume before turning towards Billy more.

"Tell you what?"

"I found the pregnancy test in the bathroom, Piper. Why didn't you tell me."

She groaned and scolded herself internally "I literally took it right before cooking."

"What did it say?" He asked quickly and walked towards her a little more.

Billy moved to kneel down in front of her and looked up towards her. The anger was quickly gone and replaced with something that Piper wasn't able to place.

"Negative." She spoke softly and kept her gaze locked with his.

Billy didn't know what to feel. Happiness? Sadness? Relief? He wasn't sure. But he just looked down towards her lap before nodding his head and getting up from the floor in front of her. Piper watched him with a confused look on her face as he went back into their bedroom. She stopped and sat there for a moment before standing up and walking towards the room. Billy was moving around their small bedroom quickly throwing on clothes before sitting down on the end of their bed. His elbows rested on his knees as he sat there.

"What are you thinking?" Piper asked, her tone softly.

"I don't know." He spoke

"D-do you want a baby?"

Billy shook his head "Not now. But I'm not gonna lie...if you were to be pregnant I would make sure that you'd be taken care of."

"I know that you would." Piper spoke quickly before walking to take a seat beside him, reaching down and gently grabbing his hand and lacing their fingers together. "But you know that we aren't ready right now."

"I'd be lying if I didn't think about it." Billy turned his head towards her before sitting up more and turning towards her. "Like in the morning when we're lying together, I think about what it would be like if we had a child together. How happy we would be. How I would finally have the family I never had before."

"Billy," Piper reached up and caressed Billy's face gently.

He turned his head and kissed her palm before moving her hand away and pulling her towards him and kiss her deeply.

"I love you, Piper." Billy whispered against her lips.

"I love you too."


	31. Mini Chapter: Haircut

**Mini Chapters**

**Chapter Three: Haircut**

"You sure about this?" Piper spoke as she looked up towards Billy through the bathroom mirror.

The bathroom window was cracked open to allow the steam from Billy's shower to escape the small and tight space. Their small radio was left sitting on the ledge of the window, the heavy metal still low even with the volume set to low. Billy sat in front of her on one of their rickety dining room table set.

"Angel, you gotta stop asking me that." Billy chuckled as he looked back towards her, his blue eyes seeming to twinkle in the low set light. It brought butterflies to Piper's stomach.

"I'm just making sure," She looked down and ran her fingers through his long blonde locks. "You've always talked about how much you love your hair, babes."

Billy's hair was his staple, has been for as long as Piper had known him and it was a staple way before that as well. The long dirty blonde curls that formed into the all too famous mullet. But the longer they stayed in California, and the more he delayed his haircuts, the more it grew out to resemble to glam rockers he idolized. Piper didn't know if it was on purpose or not, but either way, she liked it. So when she woke up this morning and Billy told her he wanted a haircut, she felt a slight feeling of panic and heartbreak.

"Piper, you look like someone just kicked your puppy." Billy laughed a little harder.

"I like your hair." Piper whimpered and continued to run her fingers through his hair. "It gives me something to grip and hold on to."

She looked back up towards him with a smirk on her face and a mischievous glint in her eyes, her hands moving to grip his hair tightly. Piper also couldn't help but give it a little tug as well.

"Behave." He spoke with a smirk.

Piper whimpered before starting to section off his hair before starting to cut. She didn't know what she was doing, she was really just trying her best with going off photos she'd seen from magazines. Billy watched her through the mirror and couldn't help but find her looks of concentration adorable. How she chewed on her lower lip slightly and her brows pulled together slightly.

"If this looks terrible you can't be mad at me." Piper spoke and looked back up, her eyes meeting his through the mirror once more. "You're the one that didn't wanna spend money at the salon down the road."

"Why would I do that when I have a perfectly capable, talented girlfriend to do it for me?"

"Because said girlfriend is not talented in cutting _hair_." She rolled her eyes before continuing and turning him around to finish off the front.

Billy reached up and grabbed her hips, his face level with her stomach. She once again wore one of his worn down band t-shirts and a pair of her small underwear underneath. His hands slowly moved down from her waist down towards her exposed legs. She gasped slightly and stilled for a moment, before looking down towards Billy.

"You're telling me to behave?"

"I can't help it, doll." His hands moved up her thighs underneath his shirt that she was wearing.

"Billy." Piper whimpered softly, her legs now having a slight shake, before letting out a deep breath. "Stop or else you're going to be bald in the front."

"Alright, alright."

Billy pulled his hands away before setting them down on his lap before Piper continued on with his hair. A few more snips and cuts later and Piper was all done. Now it wasn't perfect – after all she's not a professional hair dresser – but it was decent enough to get away with it.

"Alright, done." Piper let out a deep breath.

Piper took a step back as Billy stood up from the small chair he was sitting on, shaking off the hair that was on and around his shoulders, and turning to face the mirror more. His hand moved along his scalp, smiling as he felt the shorter edges of his hair.

"Holy shit, doll." Billy chuckled

Piper had cut along the sides and back of his hair, and as you moved towards the top, it was a little longer. Without all the hair in his face, Billy was able to see eyes a little more. They were clearer and more blue than he remembered. Also the bone structure was more prominent now.

"You like it?" Piper asked with a nervous tone to her voice.

"I do. You did a good job." He turned around and smiled down towards her, before bending down and kissing her deeply.

Piper's arms wrapped around his neck and stepped closer to him as his lips moved against hers. Billy moved his hands to grip the bottoms of her thighs, before picking her up, and carrying her towards their bedroom. A small laugh slipped passed her lips as he gently placed her down on the bed.

"God, I can see your face more." Piper smiled up towards him, her hands reaching up and caressed his cheeks. "I was against the haircut, but now I actually...can start to like it."

"Don't lie...you love it." Billy pressed his body down harder against hers. "You think I look hot."

"Don't get cocky," Piper rolls her eyes as he moved to kiss along her neck. "You know I hate it when you get cocky."

Billy moaned and moved his hand back down between her legs, moving her panties to the side before pulling back and smirking down towards her.

"Oh I think it's quite the opposite, doll." Billy smirked before moving to take off his shirt from her body and throwing it to the floor.


End file.
